ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday granted activist and lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband Hadi Ali Chattha pre-arrest bail. The case dates back to July and resurfaced a day earlier.
On Tuesday, the two had filed pre-arrest bail applications, which could not be taken up on an urgent basis as the couple struggled to avoid arrest. The case pertains to a protest by the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC).
Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA) President Syed Wajid Ali Gilani took the two to his office and assured them of complete safety, stating that no arrest would take place from within the bar premises.
The couple took refuge in the IHCBA president’s office, while a large number of police officials, including a female station house officer, remained outside the premises.
During the hearing today, Justice Muhammad Azam Khan took up the pre-arrest application and approved Mazari and Chattha’s bail against surety bonds of Rs10,000 each.
Advocate Kamran Murtaza appeared on behalf of the petitioners, and a large number of lawyers and officials from the IHCBA were present in the courtroom in solidarity with the applicants.
Addressing the court, Murtaza said that this was the first time in the country’s judicial history that a woman had to spend the night on court premises, adding that he personally felt responsible for what happened.
“If there had been an old case, they would have arrested her first,” he said, adding that the petitioners had been appearing in various cases since July.
“You are the custodian of the high court. You must ensure that no one is taken away from here,” the defence counsel pleaded with the judge.
“We are not enemies of the country. As much as you have the right, I also have the right to be in this building,” advocate Murtaza said.
He requested that the court grant protective bail and sought directions that no arrest should be made in any other case unless it has been formally placed on record.
In response to his request, Justice Khan observed, “I am passing orders only to the extent of the FIR that is before me.”
Subsequently, Justice Khan granted protective bail to Mazari and Chattha and restrained the police from arresting them in the case.
Earlier on Tuesday, the IHC declared the trial court’s order against Mazari and Chattha null and void in a case over social media posts.
In the case registered under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 (Peca), the two have been accused of inciting divisions on linguistic grounds through social media posts and creating the impression that the armed forces were engaged in terrorism within the country.
Justice Khan, in a two-page written judgment, disposed of the applications and directed that the accused be granted four days to cross-examine the prosecution witnesses.
