ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani court on Friday remanded human rights lawyer Imaan Mazari-Hazir and her husband, advocate Hadi Ali Chattha, to two weeks in judicial custody after police arrested them in Islamabad while on their way to a court appearance in a case highlighting tensions over freedom of expression and the prosecution of critics.
Mazari-Hazir, one of Pakistan’s most outspoken civil liberties lawyers, and Chattha are being prosecuted, among other charges, under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) over posts on X that authorities say incited ethnic divisions and portrayed the military as involved in “terrorism.” Both reject the allegations. If convicted under the relevant PECA provision, they face a prison term of up to 14 years.
Islamabad Anti-Terrorism Court Judge Abual Hasnat Muhammad Zulqarnain, in a brief order, rejected the police request for seven days of physical remand of the accused couple for investigation.
“Perusal of record depicts that physical remand doesn’t appear warranted in instant case, therefore both accused persons are hereby sent to judicial custody for 14 days,” he said in a court order.
“Accused person be again produced before the court on 06.02.2026.”
The couple were arrested under a police complaint registered against them in February last year, under sections 395, 341, 188, 342, 440, 186, 506(ii), 148, 149, and 353 of the Pakistan Penal Code, and sections 7 and 11(x) of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA).
These sections cover offenses including robbery, wrongful restraint and confinement, obstruction or assault on public servants, intimidation, rioting and participation in unlawful assemblies, while the ATA provisions target terrorism-related acts and threats to public safety.
According to the FIR, the couple participated in a protest against a judicial commission session for the appointment of judges, chanting slogans against judges and state institutions. It added that the rally they joined also attempted to assault policemen while trying to enter the city’s high-security Red Zone that houses government buildings and the Diplomatic Enclave.
A district and sessions court had directed law enforcement agencies to arrest the pair in mid-January, citing their repeated failure to appear at hearings, and reissued non-bailable arrest warrants.
“Imaan and Hadi were on their way to court when police arrested them without showing warrants or a copy of the FIR,” Shireen Mazari, Imaan’s mother and a former federal minister, told Arab News.
Earlier this week, an anti-terrorism court rejected the couple’s pre-arrest bail applications in a related case tied to a scuffle outside the Islamabad High Court, resulting in the couple spending the night at the Islamabad High Court Bar Association office to avoid arrest.
The couple’s legal troubles have drawn criticism from lawyers’ associations and rights groups, who argue that the proceedings reflect broader concerns about freedom of expression and the prosecution of activists in Pakistan. The Islamabad High Court Bar Association and the Islamabad Bar Association both condemned what they described as an “illegal and unconstitutional move” by police, calling for lawyers to gather at the police station where the couple was being held.
Mazari-Hazir has a history of representing clients in cases involving alleged abuses, including enforced disappearances. Her work on sensitive human rights issues, including missing persons and other civil liberties cases, has drawn public attention over several years, and she has been involved in legal battles that critics say are connected to her activism and criticism of state policies.
Enforced disappearances have been a longstanding concern in Pakistan, with activist groups estimating thousands of cases over the past decade and calling for greater transparency and accountability. The government and military deny involvement.
