Activist and lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, were arrested on Friday in Islamabad while they were reportedly en route to the district courts.

In the wake of the arrest, journalists and parliamentarians issued strong condemnations and urged justice for the two lawyers.

Imaan and Hadi were scheduled to appear in a trial court today in the controversial tweets case, after failing to appear yesterday despite repeated summons.

Opposition Leader Senator Allama Raja Nasir Abbas said in a post on X that the arrest of the lawyers on their way to court “highlighted the troubling pattern of state overreach and procedural irregularities that undermine the principles of fair trial and due process enshrined in Pakistani laws and international conventions”.

“Such actions by the state not only expose institutional weaknesses but risk a complete judicial breakdown, eroding public trust in the rule of law,” he said.

The opposition leader added that Imaan and Hadi should be immediately presented for bail and allowed to defend themselves.

“Stop silencing dissent and the advocates of human rights,” Abbas said.

The Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP) opposition alliance strongly condemned the arrest, stating in a post on X that the arrest is being treated as an “attack on civil liberties”.

“Strong reactions are being witnessed across the country in political, legal and human rights circles,” the TTAP said.

“In a statement issued by the spokesperson of the movement, it was said that the Constitution of Pakistan grants every citizen full right to peaceful political activities and freedom of expression; however, in the current situation, these constitutional rights are being continuously violated,” it added.

The alliance said that arrests of this nature not only weaken the democratic system “but also promote an atmosphere of fear and insecurity in society”.

The TTAP “demanded that supremacy of the Constitution and law be ensured in the country, the chain of political revenge be stopped immediately, and basic rights of all political and social activists be protected”.

It added that in the National Assembly, TTAP chief and opposition leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai said on the floor of the house that targeting people based on political viewpoints is a violation of the Constitution and democratic values.

“He said that freedom of expression and basic civil rights in the country are being continuously snatched away,” the statement said.

Achakzai was further quoted as saying that using the law to defend the interests of “powerful people” was condemnable and eroding the public’s faith in state institutions. The TTAP chief demanded Imaan and Hadi’s immediate release and a transparent and impartial probe into their arrest.

Human rights body Amnesty International termed Imaan and Hadi’s arrest “the latest escalation in a sustained campaign of judicial harassment and intimidation by the Pakistani authorities” in a statement on X.

Amnesty noted that the couple was arrested while heading to court and cited eyewitness reports that law enforcement personnel used undue force and provided no grounds at the time of arrest, “raising serious concerns about their safety”.

“Amnesty International is alarmed by the manner of the arrest, lack of adherence to due process and by the authorities’ continued pursuit of spurious and retaliatory cases aimed solely at silencing Imaan and Hadi for their human rights work and dissent,” the post read.

“This familiar playbook of harassment and intimidation must end. Amnesty International calls on the Pakistani authorities to immediately release Imaan Mazari‑Hazir and Hadi Ali Chattha and drop all charges targeting them solely for their work defending human rights.”

Former PTI federal minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, despite disagreeing with Imaan’s views, also criticised the arrest.

“While I find Imaan Mazari’s views on Balochistan to be foolishly misdirected, no individual should face state repression for their opinions,” he said.

Hussain said that the lawyers’ repeated arrests highlighted “the growing irrelevance of professional legal bodies” and called on lawyers “to reclaim their agency and restore the ‘red line’ around their freedom and dignity”.

PTI leader Taimur Saleem Khan Jhagra took to X and wrote that neither Imaan nor Hadi “have ever been a threat to the state, certainly not in being a voice for the voiceless”.

“The continuous overreach of a regime that knows it is unpopular and illegitimate, and has decided to clamp down on the truth as a result, by any manner possible, is something that is eroding the strength of the state and the public’s trust,” he wrote.

He suggested that they “would be wiser to create a Pakistani board of peace to sort matters within”.

“Fear, repression and coercion are no substitute for legitimate rule,” Jhagra wrote. “Ultimately, we are only increasing the price [that] the entire country will need to pay.”

Former senator Afrasiab Khattak called the arrest “a brazen attack by the usurpers on human rights and rule of law”.

“But fascist tactics can’t save the usurpers from wrath of the people who will definitely make them accountable,” he added.

Similarly, former senator Mushahid Hussain Syed also expressed his outrage over the arrest, branding it “a travesty of law and all norms of justice”.

“[The] rule of law must prevail and both should be released forthwith!” he wrote in a post on X.

Meanwhile, former member of parliament Bushra Gohar also condemned the incident, saying, “Speaking up for human rights and standing against oppression isn’t a crime.”

Barrister Khadija Siddiqi said on social media that the Islamabad police had allegedly manhandled the lawyers and “forcibly dragged them to arrest them”, while phones recording the arrest had been seized by the police.

Siddiqui called it an “abhorrent state of affairs, an absolute shame and disgrace for the Islamabad Bar president”.

“No condemnation can be enough!” she said.

Dawn’s foreign affairs and national security correspondent Baqir Sajjad, said, “Under international human rights conventions, every person deserves a fair trial and due process.

“Denying this and state overreach in under-trial cases expose weakness, not strength. Those facing court must always be given a real chance to defend themselves. Justice demands no less.”

He added that judicial compromises and breakdowns did not serve anyone, but rather eroded judicial independence, trust and the rule of law.

“Principles aren’t optional,” Sajjad added.

Journalist Arifa Noor called on the government to condemn the incident, calling it “absolutely pathetic”.

“Will the government and its allies condemn this and make some effort, any effort, to get Imaan and Hadi released?” she said, reposting footage of the arrest posted by Maryam Nawaz Khan.

Journalist Mariana Baabar said that the judiciary was trampling its own laws by not producing first information reports (FIRs), saying that Hadi and Imaan were “prepared. Unafraid.”

Meanwhile, journalist Asma Sherazi said, “This shows the weakness of (the) government, not Imaan and Hadi. Release them and don’t make mockery of justice.”

Journalist Ahmad Noorani also called the incident “highly condemnable”.

Journalist Hamid Mir said that the arrest of Imaan and Hadi “will make this couple more powerful and more respectable”.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan “strongly condemned” the action, demanding the “immediate disclosure of their whereabouts”.

Aurat March Islamabad called upon “all members of civil society, students, lawyers, and every conscious citizen to join us in resistance” against the arrest. “We must stand together against this blatant attempt to silence the voices of dissent and legal advocacy,” the group wrote on X.

Human rights defender Tahira Abdullah, in a statement, also condemned the arrest, saying, “Over the past months, this peculiar case has been distorted and convoluted beyond recognition. ‎It has clearly turned into a witch hunt and an ulterior-motivated vendetta”.

“‎It is time to commend and appreciate all the legions of human rights defenders (HRDs), activists, lawyers and media-persons across Pakistan and globally, as well as political workers, who are standing up to be counted unconditionally, unequivocally in solidarity with Imaan and Hadi,” she stated.
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