The Islamabad High Court has indicated that the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) must disclose the specific allegations against journalist Asad Ali Toor if it wishes to summon him, and that he is not required to appear on a notice already served, according to the journalist and his counsel.

Hearing Toor's petition challenging the NCCIA notice on Friday, Justice Muhammad Azam Khan told his lawyer, Atta Kundi, that he would issue an order directing the agency that any summons must be accompanied by a list of the allegations Toor is said to face, Toor said in a post on X.

When Toor asked whether he needed to appear before the NCCIA on the summons already issued to him, the judge replied that he did not, and reiterated that the agency must provide the list of allegations with any future summons, according to his account. The written order was awaited, and the NCCIA had not commented.

https://x.com/AsadAToor/status/2083066437657407727?s=20

If confirmed in the court's written order, the direction would effectively require the agency to specify its case before compelling Toor's appearance the central demand he had made since receiving the notice.

The NCCIA summoned Toor on 29 July under Section 26A of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), directing him to appear before its Cybercrime Reporting Centre in Islamabad at 11am on 31 July in an inquiry into the "alleged dissemination... of false/fake information", with the state named as the complainant. Toor had responded the same evening with a written reply saying he was willing to cooperate but could not answer allegations he had not been shown, and had asked the agency to provide the complaint and the specific content said to be false. He then moved the high court to quash the notice.

https://x.com/AsadAToor/status/2082853526351536144?s=20

Section 26A criminalises the intentional spread of "false or fake" information deemed likely to cause fear or public disorder, and carries up to three years' imprisonment or a fine. Rights groups, press bodies and lawyers have criticised the clause as vaguely worded and warned that it is being used against journalists. The National Press Club in Islamabad had condemned the summons and demanded its withdrawal.

Toor, whose YouTube channel was among several blocked under PECA in 2025, has faced repeated legal actions in recent years.

The court's written order is awaited. This is a developing story, and Balochistan Dispatch will update.

Published in Balochistan Dispatch, July 31th, 2026