SC dismisses Sophia Mirza's petition to cancel Sadaf Naz's bail

• Sophia alleged Sadaf assisted her ex-husband in kidnapping daughters.
• Sadaf stressed she had no relation to any kidnapping.
• Interpol removes Zahoor from list of most wanted persons.

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has dismissed actress and model Sophia Mirza's petition for the cancellation of Sadaf Naz's bail in connection to the case between her and her former husband Umar Farooq Zahoor over the custody of their teenage twin daughters.

Sophia, in one of the FIRs registered against Liberia's Ambassador at Large Umar Farooq Zahoor, had alleged Sadaf assisted the former in taking away her daughters to Dubai.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) arrested Sadaf on her visit to Pakistan in 2021. However, the Lahore High Court in April 2021 released her on bail. 

Sophia in December 2021 filed a petition before the Supreme Court for cancellation of the bail.

Several cases were registered against Zahoor when Shahzad Akbar was running the affairs at the FIA and the former was falsely linked with criminality in order to get him sanctioned by the Interpol (International Police).

The petition before the apex court lingere . The Supreme Court, on the last date of the hearing, warned Sophia that the court would proceed to decide the matter even if she does not plead her case on the next date of the hearing.

During the last hearing, Sophia without stating any reason told the court that she does not wish to press her petition. The court dismissed Sophia's petition and further observed that Sadaf is at liberty to approach the court for the return of her passport at the conclusion of the trial.

Sadaf has stressed her innocence and has stated that she has been victimised and that she had no relation to any kidnapping.

SC dismissed Sophia's application within a week of two big developments in the case which has been running for over 15 years now since the couple divorced.

Earlier this week the Interpol (International Police) removed Zahoor from the list of most wanted persons in the category of Red Corner Notice.

On Monday, a Lahore High Court judge dismissed Sophia's legal petition to ban her ex-husband from appearing on Pakistani media, warning the actress and her lawyer to follow the rules and stop abusing the legal process in personal fights.

At the same hearing, the assistant attorney general of Pakistan informed the court that Sophia and her counsel were lying that Zahoor was a fugitive of the law and therefore should be banned from the media. The government representative told the court that Zahoor was a free citizen and not wanted by the government of Pakistan in any case.

The decision of the court came during the third and last hearing of Sophia's petition before the LHC judge Justice, Shahid Jamil Khan. 

In the previous two hearings, the actress and her lawyer had sought after failing to satisfy the court on the grounds for the ban through the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), without justifying why Zahoor should be banned from the media to present his views.