Hours after the Supreme Court suspended the sentences of human rights lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) rejected police’s request for a 30-day physical remand of the couple and sent them to jail on judicial remand.
asserted
court → suspend → remand
On January 24, an Islamabad sessions court sentenced Imaan and Hadi to a total of 17 years in jail on multiple charges under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca).
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court → sentence → Act
The convictions of the couple, who had already been jailed the day before in a separate case, were widely condemned by lawyers and United Nations (UN) experts.
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who → jail → lawyers
Islamabad ATC Judge Abul Hasnat Muhammad Zulqarnain passed the order after the two accused were produced before the court for a hearing in a case registered against them at Kohsar police station.
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accused → pass → station
Soon after their release, Islamabad police personnel, led by the SSP Operations, reached Adiala jail and arrested the two again in connection with the case.
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personnel → lead → case
The police subsequently produced them before the ATC late at night.
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police → produce → night
Former federal minister Shireen Mazari confirmed the development, saying attempts were being made to keep the couple in jail.
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attempts → confirm → jail
Speaking to Dawn, Imaan’s counsel Riasat Ali Azad also confirmed the development, saying a large contingent of Islamabad police had shifted the couple to Kohsar police station.
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contingent → speak → station
The case at the federal capital’s Kohsar police station was registered on March 22, 2025, on the complaint of City Magistrate Ghulam Murtaza Chandio.
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case → register → Chandio
Imaan and her husband were accused of chanting anti-government slogans and blocking roads and were nominated by name in the FIR.
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Imaan → accuse → FIR
However, at the time of registration of the case, no section of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) had been added.
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section → add → Act
The FIR included Section 188 (disobedience of an order lawfully promulgated by a public servant), Section 341 (wrongful restraint), Section 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation), Section 353 (assault or use of criminal force to deter a public servant from discharging their official duty) and Section 186 (obstructing a public servant in the performance of official duties).
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FIR → include → duties
SC suspends sentences
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SC → suspend → sentences
Earlier today, the apex court suspended the couple’s sentences in the controversial social media posts case after a two-judge SC bench, headed by Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim, took up the couple’s appeals against the Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) refusal in February to suspend the sentences.
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bench → suspend → sentences
On Thursday, the SC granted the couple bail against surety bonds of Rs200,000 and ordered their release pending the IHC’s final verdict.
“Both are lawyers and we are keeping their honour,” observed Justice Afghan, but also asked senior counsel Faisal Siddiqui, the couple’s lawyer, to tell the appellants to observe the court’s decorum.
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Afghan → grant → decorum
“There is a difference between a lawyer and an ordinary person,” the judge observed.
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judge → be → lawyer
According to a written order, the SC converted the petitions of both Imaan and Hadi into appeals and suspended the operation of the January 24 conviction.
uncertain
SC → accord → conviction
The court also ordered the release of petitioners — noting they were practising advocates — on bail till the decision of their pending appeals before IHC.
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they → order → IHC
The release was subject to furnishing personal surety bonds worth Rs200,000 for each with the SC’s additional registrar (judicial).
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release → furnish → registrar
The SC will issue a detailed verdict on the case later.
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SC → issue → case
Earlier, the SC had repeatedly adjourned hearings in the case on the grounds that the IHC had fixed their application for suspension of sentence along with the main appeal.
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IHC → adjourn → appeal
During Thursday’s hearing, Siddiqui argued that the SC had issued its first order on May 12 in which the IHC was asked to decide the applicants’ petition for suspension of sentence as expeditiously as possible, preferably within a period of two weeks.
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IHC → argue → weeks
On May 12, the SC ordered the IHC to decide Imaan and Hadi’s sentence suspension pleas within two weeks.
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SC → order → weeks
Despite the May 26 deadline having already passed, the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) challenged the SC order and sought its withdrawal.
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Agency → pass → withdrawal
During the proceedings, Siddiqui also read out the order sheets from various IHC hearings.
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Siddiqui → read → hearings
At one point, the SC directed Additional Attorney General (AAG) Rana Asadullah Khan, who was standing at the rostrum, to take a seat, adding that the court will hear Siddiqui first.
“Let him sit, though he has certainly worn us out,” Siddiqui quipped and cited former chief justice Asif Saeed Khosa’s remarks that a case would only be adjourned upon the death of a judge or a lawyer.
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case → direct → judge
The counsel regretted that the IHC adjourned the case multiple times and that his clients’ request for an early hearing was rejected by the high court’s registrar office.
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request → regret → office
“What transpired at the high court came as a surprise to us,” the counsel said.
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counsel → transpire → us
“These days are an era of surprises,” remarked Justice Ibrahim.
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Ibrahim → remark → surprises
During the hearing, the AAG contended that the IHC has not yet issued any adverse ruling, adding that seven opportunities were provided in the trial court.
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opportunities → contend → court
He highlighted that the judicial forum for the suspension of a sentence under Section 426 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) was the high court.
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forum → highlight → Procedure
Justice Afghan observed that the IHC always cited the SC directives for early disposal of the case but does not act upon them.
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IHC → observe → them
The judge also asked AAG Khan whether he would give any assurance that proceedings would be held at the next IHC hearing, to which the latter replied that he cannot represent any high court judge in the SC.
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he → ask → SC
Later, the SC suspended the sentence of the applicants and ordered their release on bail, pending the IHC’s final verdict.
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SC → suspend → verdict
In their applications, the applicants had stated that it was a settled policy of the SC that criminal matters have to be given priority, especially when the matters pertain to bail or suspension of sentence.
Moreover, in Section 7 of the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act, 2023, it was expressly stated that any application pleading urgency shall be fixed for hearing within a period of 14 days.
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application → state → days
The application contended that Imaan was a young female lawyer and has remained incarcerated for a long period of time in a case where conviction was the “result of a sham trial”.
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conviction → contend → trial
The case
Imaan and Hadi have been in jail since their arrest on January 23 in a case registered against them for protesting outside the IHC and allegedly manhandling the IHC Bar Association (IHCBA) president.
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Imaan → register → president
The arrest prompted criticism by rights bodies, politicians and journalists, who stressed the couple’s right to a fair trial.
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who → prompt → trial
Just a day later, a sessions court convicted Imaan and Hadi in the social media posts case.
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court → convict → case
It sentenced the duo to 10 years’ imprisonment under Section 10 (cyber terrorism), five years’ imprisonment under Section 9 (glorification of an offence) and two years’ imprisonment under Section 26-A (false and fake information) of Peca.
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It → sentence → Peca
…and 13 more, not listed.
The Aporia
