The Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP) on Monday condemned the prison sentences of lawyers Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her spouse Hadi Ali Chatta, lamenting that “dictatorship has been imposed in Pakistan”.

The remarks came as a TTAP delegation called on Imaan’s mother Shireen Mazari to “express solidarity” with the jailed couple, according to post by the party on X.

The video accompanying the post showed TTAP chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai, Vice Chairman Mustafa Nawaz Khokar and the PTI’s Barrister Gohar Ali Khan included in the delegation.

Speaking to the media after the meeting, PTI’s Gohar condemned the couple’s arrest, their trial and how “due process was violated”.

“We have always been and will always remain opponents of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca). Voices cannot be suppressed. Nations cannot be suppressed by suppressing voices,” he said,

“We condemn this judgment. We met her family and mother. They said that they have no contact with her (Imaan),” Gohar said, drawing a parallel between how PTI founder Imran Khan was also not being allowed to meet his family.

Gohar said that such verdicts led to lawlessness, where people turn to “vigilante justice” and take the law into their own hands.

“We hope that the chief justice of Pakistan will take action on this case and other related cases in which speech is prohibited and people’s rights are violated,” he said, expressing the hope that justice would prevail.

“We demand that their (Imaan and Hadi) cases be fixed [for hearing], their convictions be reversed and their sentences be suspended,” he added. “We are hopeful that the chief justice will act on this,” he said.

In his remarks, Khokar said that the TTAP condemned Imaan and Hadi’s arrest and their denial of Constitutional rights, namely the right to a fair trial and freedom of expression.

“Without mincing words, today, dictatorship has been imposed in Pakistan,” he asserted.

“If anyone believes that Pakistan is a democracy or under a hybrid system, then they must correct themselves,” he said.

“The decisions being made by the courts are an effort to make Pakistan like North Korea or Egypt,” he emphasised.

“But those who want to make this country like North Korea or Egypt should know that resistance and the struggle for democratic rights define Pakistan’s history,” he said, adding that even dictators eventually lost power.

He said that the reality of the system imposed on the people after the February 8, 2024 general elections was now before the people.

“The reality is that there are no longer critical voices in the country; that anyone voicing criticism or demanding their rights will be silenced. Such a situation is unacceptable for us,” he stated.

Khokhar said the TTAP alliance would stage a protest on February 8, saying that the alliance would do everything in its power for the people of Pakistan.

He also expressed the hope that people within the system and the judiciary who had a “conscience” would oppose such acts as this would not cause harm to a single person, but to the whole of Pakistan.

Responding to a question, Gohar stated that the PTI had not taken back its Feb 8 protest call nor had it received any call from the government to do so.

“Only [Imran] Khan sahib can take back his own call,” he replied. “On Feb 8, we request that everyone close their shops, perform a wheel-jam and record their protest. There are no second thoughts about it.”

On Saturday, Imaan and Hadi were sentenced to a total of 17 years in prison on multiple charges in a case linked to social media posts, sparking outrage among rights groups, opposition parties, and other segments of society.

The written order by Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka stated that the “prosecution has been able to prove its case against both the accused” under sections 9 (glorification of an offence), 10 (cyberterrorism), 26-A (false and fake information) of Peca.

Under Section 9 of Peca, both were sentenced to five years of rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs5 million each, with an additional year in default. For Section 10, they were each handed 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs30m, with two more years in default. Under Section 26-A, they received two years’ rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs1m each, with six months’ additional jail time in case of non-payment.