The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday granted rights activist Advocate Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband Hadi Ali Chattha transit bail, three days after the couple was booked following a clash with the president of the Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA).

The police had registered a case against Mazari, her spouse, Zainab Janjua and several PTI-linked lawyers, including Naeem Panjhuta and Fateullah Barkiunder, under anti-terror laws after the IHCBA alleged that the bar leadership was “assaulted” by the lawyers, the suspects had also raised slogans against state institutions.

Mazari and the other booked lawyers had staged a protest on the premises of the IHC to oppose the suspension of Justice Tariq Mahmood Jahangiri from judicial work.

The hearing was presided over by PHC judge Justice Syed Mohammad Attique Shah, who granted a protective bail to the couple and asked them to appear before a relevant court by October 9.

Mazari and her spouse appeared in the court today along with their lawyers Ataullah Kundi, Jahanzeb Mehsud, and Tariq Afghan.

Meanwhile, Additional Attorney General Sanaullah appeared on behalf of the IGCBA.

Advocate Ataullah Kundi told Justice Shah that “a case was registered against the two petitioners in Islamabad,” to which he asked whether both of the petitioners were lawyers.

Kundi responded: “Yes, both of them are lawyers and would like to appear in the court.”

Addressing the petitioners, Justice Shah asked if this was their first time in Peshawar, to which Mazari replied in the affirmative, prompting Justice Shah to remark, “At least you came to Peshawar on the pretext of the FIR.”

“You people never come to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa anyway,” he added.

Advocate Kundi argued in front of Justice Shah that “Imaan Mazari is the voice of the people of KP and Balochistan,” adding that she was also a social worker in Islamabad.

Mazari, who is known to be vocal in her criticism of Pakistani authorities, recently also approached inquiry committees of the IHC and the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) against IHC Chief Justice Sarfraz Dogar.

The lawyer announced the development on X, saying that she had filed a complaint against the judge before the IHC’s workplace harassment committee and a reference for misconduct before the SJC.

This followed her altercation with Justice Dogar during a hearing earlier this month and his subsequent remarks over the exchange, which she described as “sexist”.

Meanwhile, she and husband Hadi also face charges of alleged anti-state activities on social media.