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Friday, November 22, 2024  
19 Jumada Al-Awwal 1446  

SHC orders Hareem Shah to appear before FIA by April 18

Warns failure to comply with directions will lead to withdrawal of the previous order preventing her arrest
Photo: Screengrab/file
Photo: Screengrab/file

Sindh High Court on Tuesday ordered Hareem Shah to return to the country by April 18 and appear in a money laundering investigation launched against her by the Federal Investigation, reported Ary News.

A two-member bench warned the TikTok personality Shah that failure to return to the country from Turkey will result in the court taking back the injunction, currently preventing her arrest.

Her lawyer submitted a medical certificate to the court in Turkish, which reportedly said she is under treatment in Turkey and on medically advised bed rest. The court was also told that she could take up to 20 days to recover and return to Pakistan.

One of the bench members, Justice Mohammad Iqbal Kalhoro, asked the counsel to submit the medical certificate after it was translated into English.

Justice Kalhoro also noted that Shah used foul language on social media while talking about Pakistan’s law enforcement agencies. The lawyer said that his client had already apologised for the said remarks.

The bench also said that Shah, instead of returning to Pakistan to face the probe, flew from England to Turkey, while also asking for a date on which the TikTok star will finally appear before the FIA. The lawyer replied that she needs at least one month’s time.

The court added they had asked Shah to surrender but she flouted court orders. The court decided to not grant her any further concession and ordered Shah to appear before the FIA by April 18th while warning that the previous order will be withdrawn, if she does not comply.

In a video, originally shared on Snack Video, Shah is seated with stacks of British pounds. She says it's the first time she had carried a "heavy amount" from Pakistan to London and how sad it is for Pakistanis to convert their rupees into foreign currency.

FIA prohibits leaving Pakistan with currency above $10,000.

The FIA had written to the banks in Lahore and Karachi to freeze Shah’s accounts in January after she had posted a video of herself claiming that she had successfully laundered money from Pakistan to the UK.

According to Geo News, the FIA also wrote to the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency to take action against Shah. But on February 1, after hearig her lawyer's petition, SHC barred FIA from arresting Shah while asking her to appear before the FIA in Karachi at the earliest.

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FIA

Pakistan

Turkey

Hareem Shah

TikTok

Controversy

Sindh High Court