ISLAMABAD: Hours after the arrest of activist and lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband Hadi Ali Chattha on Friday, the couple was sent to jail on judicial remand by an anti-terrorism court.
The development came in a case registered against the two for protesting outside the Islamabad High Court (IHC) and allegedly manhandling the IHC Bar Association (IHCBA) president.
Strict security measures were enforced during the proceedings and lawyers and media persons were not allowed to enter the courtroom.
The case was heard by ATC Judge Abual Hasnat Muhammad Zulqarnain.
It should be mentioned that prior to Imaan and Hadi’s arrest on Friday morning, the two had spent three nights at the office of IHCBA President Syed Wajid Ali Gilani.
Their arrest subsequently prompted lawyers’ bodies to announce a complete strike, strongly condemning the action.
Imaan and Hadi were scheduled to appear in a trial court on Friday in the controversial social media posts case, in which Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADSJ) Mohammad Afzal Majoka had cancelled their bail on January 15 and issued their arrest warrants on January 16.
According to IHCBA officials, Imaan and Hadi, along with the bar association’s president, had gone to surrender before IHC Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfaraz Dogar today.
However, they were informed by court staff that the chief justice was not present. They then returned to the bar association and later left for the district courts in an IHCBA vehicle, the officials said.
As the convoy left the IHC premises, police vehicles already deployed outside the building for the past three days began following them. Near the underpass located in front of Serena Hotel, police intercepted the vehicle, arrested the couple and shifted them to an undisclosed location.
Outside the Women Police Station, IHCBA President Gilani said that a new first information report (FIR) had been registered three days earlier against the two lawyers.
He said that while the IHC had granted relief in one case, other matters were pending before Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka, where the accused were required to appear.
Meanwhile, IHCBA members alleged that despite assurances from the administration that the lawyers would not be arrested, police intercepted them and used force during the arrest.
They claimed that police personnel assaulted the lawyers, forcibly opened vehicle doors, and manhandled Imaan during her arrest. The IHCBA expressed concern for her safety and alleged misconduct by law enforcement officials.
IHCBA Secretary Manzoor Ahmed Jajja said he was assured that the couple would not be arrested until they surrendered before the trial court. He resigned in protest over the arrest.
Talking to Dawn, Jajja said that he has submitted his resignation to the Islamabad Bar Council.
He said that the quarters concerned assured them of giving the couple a safe passage to face the trial. “Following the arrest, I have decided to quit from the office,” he said.
Meanwhile, Additional District and Sessions Judge Majoka adjourned the hearing of the controversial social media posts case against the couple due to their absence.
The court observed that the right to cross-examination could be closed if the accused failed to appear. Prosecutor Rana Usman informed the court that the accused were deliberately avoiding proceedings.
Judge Majoka directed that cross-examination be completed by 3:30pm on Saturday, stating that sufficient time had already been granted.
On Tuesday, the IHC — which Imaan and Hadi had approached for their bail in the social media posts case — had declared Judge Majoka’s arrest order against the two null and void and directed that the accused be granted four days to cross-examine the prosecution witnesses.
The court categorically clarified that Imaan and Hadi should not be arrested in the case. However, the court had also observed that if the accused failed to appear before the trial court, the protection granted by the IHC would stand automatically terminated.
‘Fascism at its peak’
Earlier today, former minister and Imaan’s mother, Shireen Mazari, confirmed in a series of posts on X that her daughter had been arrested by police personnel, saying that she and her husband “have been arrested, put in separate cars, and taken away to unknown locations.”
The former lawmaker claimed that no first information report (FIR) was shown by the police and the bar association, “sadly, could do nothing”.
“Fascism at its peak. Emasculated men in power must be so pleased with this achievement!” Mazari added in a post on X.
Mazari also shared videos showing police vehicles trailing the lawyers’ car, with officers stopping the vehicle and opening its doors.
In a separate post, Mazari claimed the police “used violence on the bar leaders, [including] breaking the windows of the car, etc”.
“All [because] the Twitter case had been exposed and more embarrassment would have followed in further [cross-examination] today,” the former minister said.
“Seems they (police) used violence on Imaan and Hadi also,” Mazari alleged in another post.
In a post at around 4:15pm, Mazari shared today’s court order and said: “So Imaan and Hadi were covertly presented in ATC just now, but lawyers were not allowed in and no one has been allowed to see this FIR, although the judge has ordered it be given to their lawyers. But they are being denied. Also no idea to which jail they will be taken.”
In a subsequent post, she alleged: “Just learnt they were never even presented before the judge — kept in vehicle and taken away in the same vehicle so one could see what state they are in after violence was done on them during the arrest and maybe after arrest too. As good as a forced disappearance.”
At around 5:30pm, Mazari posted that she had no idea where “my daughter and her husband have been taken or what state they are in after the violence perpetrated on them during the arrest and possibly after arrest also”.
“Our lawyers had taken water and some dry fruits for them and medicine for Imaan but were denied access. Enforced Disappearance!” she claimed.
‘Illegal and unconstitutional move’
Earlier, Mazari also shared a video message of IHCBA President Gilani, who was with Imaan at the time of the arrest.
“We spoke to the authorities yesterday and other institutions, and they made a commitment that Imaan Mazari and Hadi Chattha will not be arrested and will be given safe passage to go to the district court,” said the bar president in a video posted on X.
He said that, fearing arrest, the lawyers went to IHC Chief Justice Dogar and “informed him that there was a possibility we would be stopped; however, the chief justice did not hold court today.”
Gilani said Imaan and Hadi, along with their lawyers, were on their way to the sessions court when their vehicles came “under attack by police” as soon as they passed by Serena Chowk.
The IHCBA president claimed that the police subjected the lawyers to violence and broke the vehicles’ windows, forcing Imaan and Hadi out of the car.
He further said that male personnel grabbed Imaan and pushed her into the police vehicle.
Gilani also alleged that the police officials “pushed down [IHCBA] Secretary Jajja and beat him”.
He called on the lawyers of both the IHC and the sessions court to reach the Sitara Market Women’s Police Station — where he said Imaan was being held — and observe a strike.
“The authorities should stop this oppression. If they do not, then the 2007 lawyers’ movement will be launched again,” Gilani asserted.
Calling it a “very major incident for Islamabad”, Gilani emphasised that lawyers “guard the country’s integrity and law”.
The IHCBA, the Islamabad Bar Association (IBA) and the Islamabad Bar Council (IBC) issued separate statements condemning the arrest of the lawyer couple.
The IHCBA and Islamabad Bar Association announced a strike for Friday, while the IBC called on lawyers to observe a strike on Saturday.
The IBA added that it held an emergency meeting in light of the “illegal and unconstitutional move” to arrest the duo. The body called on authorities to “immediately release” the arrested lawyers.
“The Islamabad Bar Association believes that every Pakistani has the right to defend themselves in the court,” the statement read, terming the arrest a “violation of fundamental human rights guaranteed by the Constitution and law”.
The IBC condemned the “highly reprehensible conduct, including misbehaviour, assault and torture, perpetrated by the police officials” against Gilani and Jajja during the incident.
It considered such actions “to be a blatant misuse of authority, aimed at harassing advocates and creating an atmosphere of fear and coercion within the legal community”.
The IBC demanded Imaan and Hadi’s unconditional release, a transparent and independent inquiry into the conduct of police officials involved, and “strict disciplinary action against all those responsible for the misbehaviour, high-handedness and use of force”.
Separately, eight newly elected members of the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) called on lawyers’ bodies, including the PBC and the Supreme Court Bar Association, to condemn the “malicious persecution” of Imaan and Hadi.
In a joint statement, Abid Shahid Zuberi, Shafqat Mehmood Chohan, Qazi Muhammad Arshad, Munir A Khan Kakar, Salman Akram Raja, Salahuddin Ahmad, Abdus Sattar Khan and Muhammad Maqsood Buttar urged lawyers’ bodies to protest the duo’s arrest and stand in solidarity with them at all forums.
“We call upon the Pakistan Bar Council, the Supreme Court Bar Association and all other lawyers’ bodies to perform their duty and unequivocally condemn this malicious persecution of human rights defenders and to vigorously protest and stand in solidarity with Imaan Mazari and Hadi Chattha before all forums,” said the single-page statement.
It added: “We are absolutely clear this brave couple is being punished solely for the sins of professionally representing victims of state oppression and speaking out against ongoing human rights abuses in Pakistan in order to set an example for others.”
Cases against the duo
Imaan and Hadi have recently mainly defended themselves in a case that pertains to controversial social media posts. The case stems from a complaint filed on Aug 12, 2025, at the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) in Islamabad.
They were indicted in the case on October 30 last year.
ADSJ Majoka had issued arrest warrants for the couple on January 16, a day after cancelling their interim bail following repeated non-appearances.
Subsequently, Imaan and Hadi challenged their arrest orders before the IHC.
The NCCIA complaint accused Mazari of disseminating and “propagating narratives that align with hostile terrorist groups and proscribed organisations”, while her husband was implicated for reposting some of her posts.
The FIR of the case alleged that the two held security forces responsible for cases of missing persons in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
It also stated that they had portrayed the armed forces as ineffective against proscribed groups, including the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Earlier this week, a case dating back to July 2025 emerged against the duo, relating to a protest by the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC). The IHC had granted them pre-arrest bail in the case.
Separately, on Thursday, Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra dismissed Imaan and Hadi’s pre-arrest bail applications in a case over a scuffle outside the IHC in September 2025 — the same case in which they were arrested today.
Additional input from Nasir Iqbal and Tahir Naseer
