ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court has granted one-day protective bail to prominent human rights lawyer and activist Iman Zainab Mazari and her husband Advocate Hadi Ali Chatha in a major relief in the controversial tweets case.
The court has ordered law enforcement agencies not to arrest the petitioners for the time being. Hearing the case, Islamabad High Court Justice Muhammad Azam Khan heard the petition filed by the couple on Monday. During the hearing, the petitioners’ lawyer Kamran Murtaza told the court that the lower court (trial court) had cancelled the bail of their clients and issued non-bailable arrest warrants. He took the stand that Iman Mazari is unwell and should be given full legal defence.
On the other hand, the case was also heard in the court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majuka on the same day. The judge expressed strong anger over the non-appearance and non-arrest of the accused. The court ordered the NCCIA and the police to obtain a search warrant from the magistrate and search the house of the accused, arrest them in any case, and present them in court. However, this action has now been stopped after the High Court’s protective bail order.
The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) has registered a case against Iman Mazari and Hadi Chatha under the ‘PICA’ Act, 2016. They are accused of making posts on the social media platform ‘X’ that spread division on linguistic grounds and damage the reputation of state institutions. The couple, while denying the allegations, have also expressed no confidence in the trial court judge and have requested a transfer the case to another court.
The High Court has ordered the couple to appear before the relevant court by tomorrow (Tuesday), where a decision will be taken on whether to grant them permanent bail or cancel their warrant.
Read also: Court orders arrest of Iman Mazari and her husband within 24 hours
