Court defers sentence suspension petitions due to unavailability of special prosecution team
Lawyer and rights activist Imaan Mazari and her husband, advocate Hadi Ali Chattha. PHOTO: EXPRESS
ISLAMABAD:
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday adjourned proceedings on petitions seeking the suspension of sentences awarded to human rights lawyer Imaan Mazari and her husband, advocate Hadi Ali Chattha, in a case related to social media posts until June 4 after the prosecution team failed to appear before the court.
During the hearing, a member of the special prosecution team informed Justice Muhammad Azam Khan that the remaining two prosecutors were unavailable. He said one prosecutor was travelling from Lahore, while the other was engaged in proceedings before Courtroom No. 1.
Imaan, a rights activist and lawyer, and Chattha, an advocate, were in January 2026 handed a combined 17-year sentence on multiple charges linked to controversial social media posts that the prosecution argued amounted to an anti-state narrative under cybercrime laws.
Justice Khan expressed concern over the delay, noting that he had rearranged his schedule to hear the case. “My name was nominated for mediation training. I am present here only for this case,” he remarked. The judge also questioned the prosecution about compliance with the Supreme Court’s directions, asking whether it was aware of the apex court’s order in the matter.
State counsel Ali Azad argued that the deadline set by the Supreme Court had already expired. Justice Khan observed that the applications had been fixed for hearing in light of the apex court’s order, which directed the IHC to decide the sentence suspension pleas within two weeks of May 12.
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Counsel for the petitioners, Faisal Siddiqi, opposed further delays and urged the court to direct the prosecution not to seek any more adjournments. He also suggested that the hearing could proceed later in the day once the prosecutor concluded proceedings before the chief justice’s court.
The prosecution subsequently requested that the case be adjourned until Thursday or the following Monday. After confirming the availability of the petitioners’ counsel, the court fixed the hearing for June 4.
Before adjourning the proceedings, Justice Khan emphasised that all parties were bound by the Supreme Court’s order, while observing that repeated delays were inappropriate.
In March, Imaan approached the SC seeking suspension of her sentence, moving the apex court after the IHC did not list her application for hearing. Filed through Siddiqi, the petition stated that despite her counsel’s request to suspend the trial court’s judgment, the IHC only issued notices on the suspension application on February 19, and that it did not suspend the petitioner’s sentence.
Further, the petition argued that the trial court’s order was completely illegal and clearly mala fide, as it violated due process requirements under Articles 10 and 10A of the Constitution, breaching mandatory provisions of Sections 233, 234, 353, 367, and 526 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1898.
Tweets case
The case against Imaan and Hadi relates to allegedly controversial posts and reposts on X, described by authorities as “anti-state”. The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency registered the case under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016, alleging the content was intended to incite divisions and portray state institutions negatively.
The social media posts case reached the IHC after the trial court’s November 19 proceedings, during which testimonies of all prosecution witnesses were recorded. The two layers had challenged procedural irregularities, including recording evidence in their absence and the appointment of state-appointed counsel without their consent, prompting the IHC’s intervention.
Legal bodies, including the Islamabad Bar Association, have criticised aspects of the proceedings, arguing that the defendants’ right to a fair defence has been undermined.
Their plea to transfer the case was heard by the high court, which declined to grant an immediate stay. The couple then approached the Supreme Court, which temporarily halted the trial until the high court completed its hearing.
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Meanwhile, multiple other FIRs surfaced against the couple during this time. One of the newly surfaced FIRs, registered at Kohsar Police Station on July 26, 2025, was filed on the complaint of Superintendent of Police Safdar Hussain in connection with a protest by the Balock Yakjehti Committee (BYC) at the National Press Club under multiple sections of the Anti-Terrorism Act.
The couple were arrested on January 23 near the underpass outside the Serena Hotel while travelling to the district courts, and later sent to 14 days’ judicial remand by an anti-terrorism court.
A district and sessions court later sentenced both to a combined 17 years’ rigorous imprisonment each: five years under PECA Section 9 (plus a Rs5 million fine), 10 years under Section 10 (plus Rs30 million), and two years under Section 26-A (plus Rs1 million), with additional jail time in case of non-payment of fines. The judge also acquitted them of the PECA hate-speech charge under Section 11, saying prosecution witnesses did not support that allegation.
During proceedings conducted via video link, Imaan alleged mistreatment in custody and announced a boycott of the hearing. The judgment noted the pair were already in custody in another case and said they would remain in jail to serve their sentences, with credit for time spent in detention under Section 382-B of the Criminal Procedure Code.
