ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad Bar Association has announced a boycott of court proceedings in the federal capital on Saturday to protest the re-arrest of human rights lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, after the Supreme Court suspended their sentences and ordered their release on bail.
Also, Amnesty International, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan demanded their immediate and unconditional release.
Imaan and Hadi were arrested in a second case late on Thursday following the SC order for their release in a case pertaining to their posts on social media. The couple was sentenced to 17 years on multiple charges under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca) in the case.
However, Islamabad police arrested them outside Adiala jail in connection with another case and produced them before an anti-terrorism court, which sent them to jail on judicial remand.
The second case was registered at the federal capital’s Kohsar police station on March 22, last year on a complaint by Magistrate Ghulam Murtaza Chandio. Imaan and her husband were accused of chanting anti-government slogans and blocking roads and were named in the FIR.
Their legal counsel alleged that the couple was taken out of Adiala jail “arbitaririly” even before the SC bail was processed. They said they had no evidence or surety that they were taken to court, claiming that they were “concerned about their present whereabouts”.
Also, the bar association expressed concern over their re-arrest and announced that lawyers would not appear before courts in the capital on Sept 19. The lawyers said the arrest undermined the sanctity of judicial proceedings and amounted to a violation of fundamental rights and the rule of law.
It also expressed strong reservations over the practice of arresting individuals in connection with “unknown” FIRs. The lawyers held that any attempt to circumvent or frustrate court orders was unacceptable.
The association demanded their release and called for complete details of the cases and circumstances surrounding their arrests to be made public. It vowed to take every possible measure to safeguard judicial independence, uphold the rule of law and protect fundamental human rights.
Also, Amnesty International condemned the arrest and held that the action demonstrated “authorities’ willingness to weaponise the legal system against critical voices”.
“Imaan and Hadi’s re-arrest dispels any pretence that the charges against them are anything other than a politically motivated attempt to punish them for their human rights work,” the rights body’s South Asia director, Babu Ram Pant, said.
In a post on X, the HRCP, too, demanded their release and withdrawal of all cases against them.
Published in Dawn, September 19th, 2026
