ISLAMABAD (MNN); Hours after the Supreme Court suspended the sentences of human rights lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, an Islamabad anti-terrorism court (ATC) rejected police’s request for their 30-day physical remand and sent the couple to jail on judicial remand.
The couple were produced before ATC Judge Abul Hasnat Muhammad Zulqarnain in connection with a case registered at Islamabad’s Kohsar Police Station.
Soon after the Supreme Court ordered their release on bail, Islamabad police personnel led by the SSP Operations reached Adiala Jail and arrested Imaan and Hadi again in connection with the Kohsar police case. They were subsequently taken to the ATC late at night.
Former federal minister Shireen Mazari confirmed the development and alleged that efforts were being made to keep the couple in jail. Imaan’s counsel, Riasat Ali Azad, also confirmed that a large contingent of Islamabad Police had shifted the couple to Kohsar Police Station.
The Kohsar Police Station case was registered on March 22, 2025, on the complaint of City Magistrate Ghulam Murtaza Chandio. Imaan and Hadi were accused of chanting anti-government slogans and blocking roads and were nominated in the FIR.
The FIR invoked Section 188 of the Pakistan Penal Code for disobedience of a lawful order, Section 341 for wrongful restraint, Section 506 for criminal intimidation, Section 353 for using criminal force to deter a public servant from performing official duties, and Section 186 for obstructing a public servant. No provision of the Anti-Terrorism Act had been included when the case was initially registered.
Supreme Court Suspends Sentences
Earlier, a two-member Supreme Court bench comprising Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim suspended the couple’s sentences while hearing their appeals against the Islamabad High Court’s refusal to suspend their convictions.
The Supreme Court granted both appellants bail against Rs200,000 surety bonds each and ordered their release pending the final decision of the Islamabad High Court.
The court observed that both accused were practising lawyers and stressed the importance of maintaining the dignity and decorum of the legal profession.
In its written order, the Supreme Court converted the couple’s petitions into appeals and suspended the operation of their January 24 convictions. Their release was made subject to furnishing personal surety bonds of Rs200,000 each with the Supreme Court’s additional registrar (judicial).
The detailed Supreme Court judgment is to be issued later.
Background of the Conviction
Imaan and Hadi had been in custody since their arrest on January 23 in another case related to a protest outside the Islamabad High Court and allegations of manhandling the president of the Islamabad High Court Bar Association.
A day after their arrest, an Islamabad sessions court convicted them in a separate case concerning social media posts and sentenced them to a combined 17 years in prison under provisions of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA).
The sentences included 10 years under Section 10 for cyber terrorism, five years under Section 9 for glorification of an offence and two years under Section 26-A for false and fake information. All sentences were ordered to run concurrently.
The case originated from a complaint filed on August 12, 2025, by an NCCIA investigating officer before the FIA Cybercrime Reporting Centre in Islamabad.
The prosecution alleged that Imaan had disseminated and promoted narratives allegedly aligned with hostile terrorist groups and proscribed organisations, while Hadi was accused of reposting some of her social-media content.
The FIR further alleged that the couple held security forces responsible for missing-person cases in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan and portrayed the armed forces as ineffective against proscribed organisations, including the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
The couple were indicted in the case on October 30, 2025, while arrest warrants were subsequently issued and reissued after repeated non-appearances.
They challenged their convictions before the Islamabad High Court in February. The high court issued notices to the respondents but initially declined to suspend their sentences.
The couple later approached the Supreme Court against the Islamabad High Court order, seeking suspension of their sentences and an early hearing.
The Supreme Court had earlier directed the Islamabad High Court to decide the sentence-suspension pleas expeditiously. During Thursday’s proceedings, the couple’s counsel argued that repeated adjournments had delayed the matter.
The Supreme Court subsequently suspended the sentences and granted bail pending the final outcome of the appeals before the Islamabad High Court.
The latest ATC order, however, means the couple remain in custody on judicial remand in the separate Kohsar Police Station case.
