ISLAMABAD: Lawyer and rights activist Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, submitted an application in an Islamabad court on Wednesday seeking to summon the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) director general (DG ISPR) as a witness in a case registered against them over their social media posts.

In the case, registered with the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016 (Peca), Mazari and Chattha 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.

On Wednesday, the two submitted a written application to Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka during the hearing of the case, referring to a press conference addressed by the military spokesperson on January 6.

The application said the press briefing was broadcast “on all national media, and the content is readily available online”. During the press conference, “references were made to matters directly pending trial before this learned court”.

“This is the exact prosecution case that is pending adjudication before this learned court,” the application said.

Mazari and Chattha contended that their request was a “clear requisite of natural justice in line with the Constitutional protection safeguarded for the accused persons with respect to the right to fair trial and due process”.

The court subsequently directed that a copy of the application be provided to the prosecution and said a decision on the request would be made after it heard the prosecution.

Later, the court said it was issue a decision on the application after the statements of the accused were recorded under Section 342 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

During the proceedings, prosecution witness Shahroz Riaz was also cross-examined. He made several admissions regarding the manner in which the inquiry in the case was initiated and the collection of social media content.

The hearing has been adjourned till January 8.

The case

The case stems from a complaint filed on Aug 12, 2025 at the NCCIA, Islamabad.

The 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 first information report (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 Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan.

The accused were indicted in the case in October last year.