LAHORE: The Lahore police lodged a case against renowned pop musician and singer Salman Ahmed under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca) for allegedly carrying out propaganda against the state and the national security institutions on social media.

The first information report (FIR) was registered with the Defence (A) Police Station. It alleged that Salman Ahmed who had formed the famous pop band Junoon posted false propaganda and shared hateful content against the national institutions on social media, including X (formerly Twitter).

The FIR further stated that an on-duty police officer personally observed these online contents which were liable to be investigated to take the suspect to the court of law.

Salman Ahmed has approximately 265,400 followers on X, indicating the extensive reach of his content.

Earlier, Pakistan Tehreek-iInsaf (PTI) expelled Salman Ahmad from the party and also suspended his membership for criticising the family of PTI founderImran Khan.

BAIL PLEA DISMISSED: The Lahore High Court on Monday dismissed the post-arrest bail petition of former secretary of Punjab Assembly Rai Mumtaz in a case related to appointments made in violation of merit.

Justice Sultan Tanvir Ahmed announced the verdict on Mumtaz`s bail petition.

At the previous hearing, the court had reserved its judgment after hearing arguments from both sides. The state counsel had opposed the bail plea, requesting the court to reject it.

The Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) registered the case against him and others including former chief minister Parvez Elahi and former principal secretary Muhammad Khan Bhatti.

In his plea, Mumtaz claimed that no irregularities were committed in the recruitment process.

The ACE alleged that illegal appointments of BS-17 posts were made in the assembly when Mr Elahi was the chief minister and co-suspects were serving in the assembly.

The prosecution said favourite candidates were appointed to the posts despite being declared failed in the written examination. The appointed candidates had also been nominated as suspects in the case.