The first 48 hours

Most white-collar matters announce themselves in one of four ways: a written notice, a call asking someone to appear, a search of premises, or an arrest. What is done in the first 48 hours rarely wins the case. It very often decides how hard the case will be. This chapter is a working sequence for a director or general counsel on the day it happens. It states the position as of April 2026; procedural specifics flagged below should be confirmed by the reviewing lawyer.

First, establish what has actually happened

Facts first. Which agency is acting — NAB, the FIA, the FBR, the SECP, a provincial anti-corruption establishment, or the police. What document exists: a call-up notice, a section 160 CrPC notice, a tax notice, an FIR, a search warrant, an arrest. Who received it, and in what capacity — as a company officer, or personally. What is demanded, and by when.

Photograph every document served. Record the names and designations of the officers involved, the time, and what was said. If an FIR has been registered, obtain a copy at once; it sets out the allegation the investigation will follow, and everything else is read against it.

The first hour: preserve, appoint, centralise

Three steps come before anything else.

Preserve. Issue an internal instruction that nothing is to be deleted, shredded or altered: emails, accounting records, phones, CCTV, backups. Causing evidence to disappear is a separate offence under section 201 of the Pakistan Penal Code, and it converts a defensible case into an indefensible one. The instruction should be written, dated and circulated to IT and records staff the same day.

Appoint. Engage criminal counsel that day and sign a vakalatnama — the written authority for the advocate to act. Counsel who handle the company's contracts are not a substitute at this stage; the matter needs someone who appears before these agencies and these courts.

Centralise. Name one person — usually the general counsel or the company secretary — through whom all contact with the agency, all documents and all instructions flow. Inform the board chair or the audit committee as governance requires. Notify the D&O insurers; most policies contain strict notification clauses, and late notice can cost the cover.

Reading the notice

The document tells you the stage. A NAB call-up notice under section 19 of the National Accountability Ordinance 1999 usually means an inquiry or investigation is open. An FIA notice under section 160 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898 summons a person to give information; it does not, by itself, make them an accused. FBR notices under sections 176 and 177 of the Income Tax Ordinance 2001 belong to audit and information-gathering. An SECP requisition points to an inspection or investigation under the Companies Act 2017.

Never ignore a notice. Non-appearance is treated as non-cooperation, invites coercive steps, and reads badly at every later bail hearing. If the deadline is impossible, seek an extension in writing, with reasons, before it expires.

Prepare every appearance with counsel. Establish first in what capacity the person is being called. A witness must attend and answer, but no one is required to incriminate themselves; Article 13 of the Constitution protects an accused against self-incrimination, and the line between witness and suspect can shift during a single interview [SCOPE OF THE PROTECTION AT THE INVESTIGATIVE STAGE TO BE VERIFIED BY REVIEWING LAWYER]. Whether counsel may sit in the interview room varies by agency and by officer; at minimum, counsel should accompany the person to the premises and be available throughout [PRACTICE TO BE VERIFIED BY REVIEWING LAWYER].

Take to the interview: identity documents, the notice, and nothing that has not been reviewed by counsel. Answer what is asked. Volunteer nothing. If a written statement is demanded on the spot, ask for time to provide it through counsel.

If someone has been arrested

The law gives an arrested person three immediate rights: to be informed of the grounds of arrest, to consult and be defended by counsel of their choice — both under Article 10(1) of the Constitution — and to be produced before a magistrate within 24 hours of arrest, under Article 10(2) and section 61 of the CrPC. The production hearing is the first battle. It is where the agency asks for physical remand — custody for questioning — and where counsel opposes it or narrows it. Chapter 3 deals with remand and bail in full.

Until counsel is present, the arrested person should give their name and particulars and otherwise say that they will answer through their lawyer. They should sign nothing. The company should establish where the person is held, ensure counsel attends the 24-hour production, and arrange medication, clothing and family contact through counsel.

If there is a search

Ask to see the warrant or the statutory authority for the search, and note it. Searches in a criminal investigation are governed by the CrPC, chiefly sections 96 to 98 and section 165; the FBR has its own power to enter and search premises under section 175 of the Income Tax Ordinance 2001; SECP inspections rest on the Companies Act 2017.

Do not obstruct. Obstruction is an offence and achieves nothing. Instead, observe and record. Two employees should accompany the search team throughout. Insist on a seizure memo — the signed inventory of everything taken — and keep a copy. Ask for copies or images of seized records where practicable. Note every device removed and who held it.

Flag privilege at once. Communications with the company's advocates are privileged under the Qanun-e-Shahadat Order 1984; identify the files and mailboxes containing advocate correspondence and state, on the record, that privilege is claimed over them. The position of communications with employed in-house counsel is less settled and should be treated with care [POSITION TO BE VERIFIED BY REVIEWING LAWYER]. If passwords or server access are demanded, ask that the demand be recorded in writing [LIMITS OF COMPELLED DISCLOSURE TO BE VERIFIED BY REVIEWING LAWYER].

If arrest is expected but has not happened

Where there is a real apprehension of arrest, pre-arrest bail under section 498 CrPC can be sought from the Court of Session or the High Court, and interim protection is commonly granted while the application is heard. It is an extraordinary remedy with its own requirements, covered in chapter 3. The point for the first 48 hours is narrower: if arrest is in the air, the application should be prepared now, not after the knock. Review travel at the same time; names can be placed on the Exit Control List without notice, and it is better to learn one's status before reaching the airport.

What not to do

Do not destroy or tidy records. Do not contact the investigating officer informally to make the matter go away; that conversation can itself become a bribery allegation. Do not let employees give statements individually and uncoordinated — each is entitled to counsel, and the company should offer it. Do not brief the press, and do not answer press queries beyond a short holding line. Do not leave the country abruptly; abrupt departure is read as flight and is quoted back at every bail hearing.

A working checklist

Within the first 48 hours: photograph and log every document served; issue a written preservation instruction; sign a vakalatnama with criminal counsel; name a single point of contact; inform the board and notify the D&O insurers; obtain the FIR if one exists; establish each summoned person's capacity before they appear; seek extensions in writing where deadlines are impossible; prepare pre-arrest bail if arrest is apprehended; check Exit Control List exposure before anyone flies.

None of this requires panic. All of it requires order. The next chapter deals with what happens when the question becomes liberty itself: remand, bail and travel.