ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Thursday granted bail to human rights lawyer Imaan Mazari and her husband, advocate Hadi Ali Chattha, while suspending the trial court’s February 19 order in a case concerning their social media posts.
The relief was granted pending a final decision by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on applications seeking suspension of their sentences.
Mazari and Chattha were sentenced in January 2026 to a combined 17 years in prison on multiple charges related to controversial social media posts. The prosecution had alleged that the posts contributed to an anti-state narrative under cybercrime laws. Both subsequently sought suspension of their sentences.
During Thursday’s hearing, Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan said the court was mindful that both accused were lawyers and urged them to observe the decorum of the court.
Additional Attorney General Rana Asad opposed the bail applications, arguing that the IHC had yet to issue a decision in the matter. He maintained that the high court was the appropriate forum to consider suspension of the sentences under Section 426.
The Supreme Court bench also questioned the repeated delays in proceedings before the IHC. Justice Afghan noted that continued adjournments had affected the progress of the case and asked what had happened following the Supreme Court’s earlier directions.
Mazari’s counsel, Advocate Faisal Siddiqui, told the court that the Supreme Court had issued an order on May 12 directing the IHC to decide the matter within two weeks. He subsequently referred to the various hearing dates and adjournments before the high court.
The IHC had scheduled September 8 to hear the couple’s applications for suspension of their sentences, but the hearing was adjourned without proceedings. The Supreme Court had previously expressed concern over the delay and questioned the handling of the matter.
Case background
Mazari and Chattha were arrested on January 23 near the Serena Hotel underpass while travelling towards the district courts. They were subsequently sent on judicial remand by an anti-terrorism court.
A district and sessions court later sentenced each of them to multiple terms of imprisonment under provisions of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), along with financial penalties. The court, however, acquitted them of a hate-speech charge under Section 11 of PECA, noting that prosecution witnesses had not supported the allegation.
In March, Mazari approached the Supreme Court seeking suspension of her sentence after her application before the IHC had not been listed for hearing. Her petition challenged the trial court proceedings and alleged violations of due process.
In June, the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency challenged the Supreme Court’s earlier direction requiring the IHC to decide the suspension applications within a specified period. The agency argued that the matter was already pending before the high court and that the Supreme Court could not interfere with those proceedings.
The IHC later reserved its decision on the maintainability of the suspension applications, saying it would first consider the prosecution’s objections before proceeding with the matter.
The Supreme Court’s latest order grants bail to Mazari and Chattha while the proceedings concerning suspension of their sentences remain pending before the IHC.
