LAHORE: A local sessions court on Tuesday extended the pre-arrest bail of content creators Rajab Butt and Nadeem Mubarak alias Nani Wala in a case pertaining to the promotion of gambling apps on social media.
Strict security arrangements were made by the police when the two reached the court along with their lawyers.
Additional District and Sessions Judge Mansoor Ahmed presided over the hearing, during which the counsel for the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) stated that the investigating officer was busy with proceedings before the Lahore High Court (LHC).
Therefore, the NCCIA counsel asked the court to allow time for producing the record.
Subsequently, Judge Qureshi extended the bail of both TikTokers till January 26 and directed the NCCIA to present the record at the next hearing.
The judge had earlier allowed Butt and Mubarak to leave the courtroom after marking their attendance.
The content creators are no strangers to legal trouble.
In September 2025, Butt was booked by the NCCIA for allegedly promoting online gambling apps in his YouTube and TikTok videos, as well as on Instagram stories for limited periods of time.
Nadeem was also booked by the NCCIA for allegedly promoting gambling apps on his social media, but he was also arrested in September for displaying a fake registration number – ‘IK-804’ – on his car. On being quizzed, he couldn’t satisfy the police with regard to displaying the fake registration number, which is associated with jailed PTI founder Imran Khan.
Punjab Bar Council restores licence of Rajab Butt’s lawyer
Separately, earlier in the day, the Punjab Bar Council (PbBC) restored the practising licence of Advocate Mian Ali Ashfaq, the counsel representing Butt.
The decision came a day after LHC’s Justice Malik Awais Khalid heard a petition filed by Advocate Ashfaq challenging the suspension of his licence to practise law. The court had summoned the complete record of the PbBC about the licence suspension and also directed the council’s vice chairman to afford the lawyer an opportunity of a personal hearing and decide the matter by 2pm today.
The PbBC had suspended Ashfaq’s licence on a complaint from the president and general secretary of the Karachi Bar Association (KBA) for representing Butt before a Karachi court despite a strike called by the bar.
On Tuesday, PbBC Vice Chairman Muhammad Ashfaq Kahooti said that Ashfaq’s licence had been “restored”. It stated that the same day the complaint against Ashfaq had been received, “a short notice was issued to him and, without affording him a proper opportunity of hearing, his licence to practice as an advocate was suspended” by the bar’s executive committee.
However, the order noted that the objection raised by Ashfaq regarding the lack of authority of the PbBC’s executive committee was “turned down as the said contention is misconceived”.
The vice chairman referred the matter to the council’s disciplinary committee for further proceedings and directed the office to inform the LHC about the decision.
The PbBC order stated that Ashfaq had submitted an application in the shape of an objection petition challenging his licence suspension. His application argued that the December 31 order was a “clear violation” of Article 10-A of the Constitution, as well as the “principles of natural justice, as the order was passed in absentia without providing him an opportunity of hearing”.
Ashfaq further contended that he had not “committed any misconduct either towards the legal fraternity or against the dignity of the legal profession”. The lawyer had described the complaint filed by KBA as “biased, mala fide, and motivated by certain members of its cabinet”.
The KBA had called the strike in protest against the alleged victimisation of its former librarian, Naseer Muhammad Kalhoro.
The PbBC’s December 31 order had noted that while defending his client, Ashfaq made statements against the legal fraternity, which the council described as serious professional impropriety.
The PbBC’s executive committee then unanimously decided to suspend Ashfaq’s licence to practice law with immediate effect. It referred the matter to the council’s disciplinary committee for further proceedings regarding the permanent cancellation.
Ashfaq has also been appearing as counsel for former spymaster Faiz Hameed in the trial concluded against him before a military court.
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