October 22, 2026
By Hashir Ahsan
ISLAMABAD
Additional Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka of the Special Court (NCCIA), Islamabad, delivered a landmark judgment in a cybercrime case involving the blackmailing of a minor girl, acquisition and transmission of her explicit photographs and videos, and issuance of criminal threats.
The court convicted both nominated accused, Tayyab Shehzad and Zeeshan Haider, sentencing them to rigorous imprisonment alongside heavy fines.
According to the detailed judgment, the criminal proceedings originated from a complaint lodged by the complainant, Zulfiqar Iqbal, a resident of Islamabad, at the Cybercrime Reporting Centre, NCCIA (National Child and Cybercrime Agency), Islamabad.
The complainant alleged that WhatsApp user Tayyab Shehzad, with malicious intent and ulterior motives, was involved in unlawfully obtaining indecent and highly objectionable photographs and videos of his 12-year-old daughter, Abiha Zulfiqar.
Subsequently, the accused transmitted the victim’s explicit photographs via WhatsApp and subjected her to serious threats of dire consequences.
In its 11-page judgment, the court comprehensively evaluated the rival legal contentions. Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka undertook a judicial interpretation of the terms “Sexually Explicit Conduct” and “Publicly” under Section 2(1)(xxviia) of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), 2016.
The court held that since the accused did not disseminate the explicit photographs on social media platforms for general public viewing, but rather transmitted them inter-se and to the complainant, Section 21 of the PECA Act (pertaining to public exhibition or display of information) stands un-attracted. Consequently, the accused were acquitted of the charge under Section 21.
However, the judge clarified that regarding Section 22 (Child Pornography), the recovery of explicit material depicting private parts of the minor victim from the possession of the accused, as well as its inter-se transmission, stands fully established. Therefore, the accused were held fully culpable of the offense of child pornography.
On the question of consent, interpreting Section 24 (Cyberstalking) of the PECA Act, the court ruled that under Section 24(1)(d) of the statute, irrespective of whether an individual’s image or video was created with or without consent, if such content is exhibited, forwarded, or distributed to another person without consent in a manner that compromises their modesty or privacy, it constitutes the offense of cyberstalking.
“Even assuming, that the minor had transmitted the photographs voluntarily, the accused nevertheless forwarded the said material inter-se and to her father without her authorization and subjected her to blackmail, constituting a clear infraction of Section 24,” said the statement.
Evaluating the entire ocular, technical, and forensic evidence, the court concluded that the prosecution successfully proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.
In its verdict, the court sentenced convicts Tayyab Shehzad and Zeeshan Haider under Section 22 of the PECA Act to seven (7) years of Rigorous Imprisonment (RI) along with a fine of Rs. 1,000,000 (ten lakh) each.
In default of payment of fine, both convicts shall undergo an additional six (6) months of Simple Imprisonment (SI). Furthermore, both convicts were sentenced under Section 24 of the PECA Act to three (3) years of Rigorous Imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 1,000,000 each, with non-payment of fine entailing an additional six (6) months of Simple Imprisonment. Under Section 382-B of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), the court extended the benefit of counting the period of pre-trial detention toward their substantive sentence and directed that all sentences shall run concurrently.
Background
Upon receipt of the complaint at the NCCIA, the Investigation Officer obtained subscriber identity records of the suspect mobile number from the competent authority, revealing that the SIM was registered in the name of Tayyab Shehzad.
Thereafter, on August 5, 2024, the complaint was converted into Formal Inquiry No. 897/2024, during which both accused, Tayyab Shehzad and Zeeshan Haider, were summoned to join the investigation.
The FIR was registered at Police Station FIA/NCCIA Cybercrime Reporting Centre, Islamabad, under Sections 21, 22, and 24 of the PECA Act, 2016, read with Sections 34 and 109 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).
On the same date, the mobile handsets recovered from accused Tayyab Shehzad and accused Zeeshan Haider were dispatched to Technical Assistant Anees-ur-Rehman for technical examination.
Technical Assistant Anees-ur-Rehman rendered a 10-page Technical Analysis Report (Version 1.0) dated August 5, 2024, establishing that accused Tayyab Shehzad, in active collusion with co-accused Zeeshan Haider, was involved in procuring and transmitting the minor’s explicit photos, and subsequently forwarded the objectionable content to the complainant.
In light of the findings of the technical report and available record material, Sections 109 and 34 PPC were incorporated into the case, and Zeeshan Haider was formally nominated as an accused.
On August 6, 2024, Technical Assistant Anees-ur-Rehman finalized a supplementary 4-page Technical Report (Version 1.1), further incriminating accused Zeeshan Haider in the transmission of explicit photos and videos to co-accused Tayyab Shehzad.
Following the report, accused Zeeshan Haider was arrested on August 6, 2024, and on August 9, 2024, both accused were remanded to judicial custody.
Subsequently, both seized mobile handsets were referred to the Digital Forensic Laboratory, where Forensic In-Charge & Deputy Director Masood Ali conducted the analysis and submitted the Forensic Report.
According to the technical and forensic findings, it was conclusively verified that accused Zeeshan Haider coerced the 12-year-old victim to obtain explicit photographs and, in January 2024, transmitted them from his Facebook profile “Zeeshan Haider” to Tayyab Shehzad’s Facebook account.
Thereafter, Tayyab Shehzad retained the explicit material and, on July 24, 2024, contacted the complainant via WhatsApp to intimidate him by sharing his daughter’s explicit images, blackmailing him for unlawful demands.
During digital and forensic evaluation, objectionable and explicit photographs and videos of the minor victim were extracted from both handsets. Upon completion of procedural formalities, the final investigation report (Challan) was submitted before the trial court, where the erstwhile Sessions Judge formally framed charges against the accused; however, both pleaded not guilty and claimed trial, whereupon the prosecution was directed to produce its evidence.
The prosecution produced six witnesses in total to prove its case. The star witness of the prosecution was the 12-year-old victim, Abiha Zulfiqar, who narrated the sequence of events before the court and corroborated the contents of the initial complaint.
In her deposition, the victim stated that she was standing outside her residence when accused Zeeshan Haider requested her father’s mobile number under the pretext of speaking with him, which she provided.
She further deposed that she utilized her father’s mobile handset, and one night received a phone call from Zeeshan Haider, who threatened her into sending explicit videos and photographs.
Initially refusing, she succumbed to his coercion and forwarded self-recorded explicit videos and photos from her father’s number to Zeeshan Haider’s WhatsApp number, following which the accused subjected her to blackmail.
On the night of July 24, 2024, the accused transmitted those photographs to the complainant’s WhatsApp number. During cross-examination, the victim conceded that the media content had been self-generated.
During trial, defense counsel contended that the complainant, Zulfiqar Iqbal, resiled from the prosecution narrative, rendering the case unsustainable in the eyes of the law.
The complainant had deposed before the court that he did not intend to press charges and expressed no objection to the acquittal of the accused, whereupon the court declared him a Hostile Witness and allowed the prosecutor to conduct cross-examination.
During cross-examination by the prosecutor, the complainant admitted receiving threatening communications and explicit videos of his daughter from Tayyab Shehzad’s WhatsApp number, and confirmed that Tayyab Shehzad had shared the content with Zeeshan Haider,
thereby substantiating the prosecution’s allegations on record. Additionally, defense counsel argued that the material was not publicly broadcasted under PECA, and since the victim generated the images voluntarily, no criminal offense was made out.