News Desk: The Supreme Court on Thursday suspended the sentences of human rights lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, in the social media posts case and ordered their release on bail.
A two-member bench comprising Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim granted bail to the couple against surety bonds of Rs200,000 each. Their release will remain subject to the final decision of the Islamabad High Court on their appeals against conviction.
The Supreme Court took up the couple’s challenge to the Islamabad High Court’s refusal to suspend their sentences.
During the hearing, senior counsel Faisal Siddiqui told the bench that the Supreme Court had already directed the IHC on May 12 to decide the sentence-suspension petitions expeditiously, preferably within two weeks.
Siddiqui said the matter had been repeatedly adjourned despite the Supreme Court’s direction. He also presented the order sheets from several IHC hearings before the bench.
The counsel said his clients’ request for an early hearing had also been rejected by the IHC registrar’s office.
Justice Afghan observed that the IHC had repeatedly referred to the Supreme Court’s directions for early disposal but had not proceeded accordingly.
Additional Attorney General Rana Asadullah Khan argued that the Islamabad High Court remained the appropriate forum for suspension of a sentence under Section 426 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
He said the IHC had not passed any adverse order against the couple and that the trial court had provided several opportunities during the proceedings.
Justice Afghan asked whether the government could assure the Supreme Court that the case would be taken up at the next IHC hearing. The AAG replied that he could not give an assurance on behalf of a high court judge.
The Supreme Court subsequently suspended the sentences and ordered the release of Imaan and Hadi on bail.
Imaan Mazari, Hadi Chattha Get 17-Year Sentences
An Islamabad sessions court had sentenced Imaan Mazari and Hadi Chattha to a combined 17 years in prison on January 24 under various provisions of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca).
Imaan was sentenced to 10 years under Section 10 relating to cyber terrorism, while the court awarded five years under Section 9 concerning glorification of an offence and two years under Section 26-A concerning false and fake information.
The sentences were ordered to run concurrently. The convictions prompted criticism from lawyers, rights groups and United Nations experts. The case arose from a complaint filed in August 2025 by an investigating officer of the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) in Islamabad.
The complaint alleged that Imaan had disseminated material linked to narratives associated with hostile terrorist groups and proscribed organisations. Hadi was accused of reposting some of her social media posts.
The FIR further alleged that the couple had blamed security forces for cases involving missing persons in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan and had portrayed the armed forces as ineffective against proscribed organisations, including the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Imaan Mazari, Hadi Chattha Arrest Case
The couple were arrested on January 23 in a separate case related to a protest outside the Islamabad High Court. They were accused of manhandling the president of the Islamabad High Court Bar Association.
Their arrest drew reactions from rights organisations, politicians and journalists, who raised concerns about due process and the right to a fair trial. The following day, the sessions court convicted the couple in the social media posts case.
Imaan and Hadi challenged their convictions before the Islamabad High Court through separate appeals filed on February 7. The IHC took up their appeals and sentence-suspension applications on February 19 but declined to suspend their sentences. They subsequently approached the Supreme Court on April 30.
On May 12, the Supreme Court directed the IHC to decide their sentence-suspension pleas expeditiously, preferably within two weeks. The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency later challenged that direction before the Supreme Court.
The Islamabad High Court eventually declared the couple’s sentence-suspension petitions admissible on July 25. Imaan later returned to the Supreme Court seeking an early hearing of the challenge against the IHC proceedings.
The latest Supreme Court order means that Imaan Mazari and Hadi Chattha will remain on bail while the Islamabad High Court considers their appeals and reaches a final decision.
