ISLAMABAD – A court in country’s federal capital issued non-bailable arrest warrants for lawyer and activist Imaan Mazari and her husband, Advocate Hadi Ali Chattha, over controversial tweets seen as targeting state institutions.
Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka of Islamabad court directed law enforcement to arrest the couple immediately and bring them before the court on September 24.
The move comes after their legal team’s desperate plea to cancel the warrants was swiftly rejected in court, escalating the high-profile case.
National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) filed the case, accusing the duo of attempting to ignite ethnic discord and holding security forces responsible for enforced disappearances in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
The duo now face prosecution under multiple sections of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) — a charge sheet that could have serious consequences.
Last week, Islamabad Police registered case under anti-terrorism laws against Imaan, her husband Hadi Ali Chattha, and several PTI-linked lawyers after a confrontation with Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA) President Wajid Ali Gilani.
FIR nominated Imaan, Naeem Panjhuta, Fatehullah Barki, and others of assaulting Gilani, intimidating him, and chanting slogans against state institutions during a protest at the IHC against the suspension of Justice Tariq Mahmood Jahangiri.
Advocate Imaan Mazari resigns from IHCBA’s enforced disappearances committee
