ISLAMABAD: Additional District and Sessions Judge Mohammad Afzal Majoka on Thursday indicted human rights activist Imaan Mazari and her spouse Hadi Ali Chatha in the controversial tweets case.

Both denied the charges during the hearing.

The court summoned all prosecution witnesses for the next hearing and adjourned the proceedings till November 5. During the hearing, an exchange of harsh words reportedly took place between the judge and Mr Chatha.

He told the court, “I will not post the bonds. If you want to keep me in jail, then keep me.” Judge Majoka directed him to re-submit the bail bonds before the next date of hearing.

The court summoned reporter Hasher Warraich to the rostrum and asked him how many times he had visited the court a day earlier. The reporter replied that he had come three to four times.

The judge then asked, “At what time did I read the order?” Warraich responded that it was between 2:35 and 2:40pm. The reporter clarified that when the order was announced, no representative from Ms Mazari’s side was present, but Mr Chatha reached the courtroom afterward.

Journalist’s acquittal plea rejected

In a separate development, the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) rejected the acquittal plea of senior journalist Mateeullah Jan in a drug and terrorism case.

According to the written judgement issued by ATC Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra, the statements of police witnesses corroborated the prosecution’s stance. The court observed that it could not be concluded at this stage that the accused would not face punishment.

The judgement noted that 246 grams of crystal meth (ice) was recovered from Mr Jan’s car, while a police officer was injured during the incident with the medical report on record. The court ruled that policemen can also be regarded as reliable witnesses in drug-related cases and concluded that the evidence was insufficient to justify acquittal at this stage.

Published in Dawn, October 31st, 2025