ISLAMABAD: Rights activist and lawyer Imaan Mazari and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, spent a second consecutive night at the office of Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA) President Wajid Gilani on Thursday, citing fears of arrest amid a heavy police presence around the Islamabad High Court.
The couple had secured pre-arrest bail on Wednesday in a case dating back to July 2025 but did not appear before the court on Thursday in a separate matter linked to a controversial tweet.
Speaking to visitors, Mazari said she was willing to surrender but demanded transparency from authorities. “We do not want any concession. We are sitting here to surrender,” she said. “We will go ourselves — just tell us how many cases have been registered against us.”
Lawyers’ bodies sharply criticised the police deployment around the high court. District Bar Islamabad President Naeem Gujar alleged that police had cordoned off the court from all four sides and were harassing lawyers.
“The boots of lawyers’ vehicles are being checked, and lawyers are being harassed,” he said, appealing to the prime minister, interior minister and army chief. He also demanded a complete list of cases against Mazari and Chattha to ensure due process.
Chairman of the Islamabad Bar Council Executive Committee Zafar Khokhar echoed the concerns, calling the situation alarming. “It feels like there is a law of the jungle here,” he said, insisting that the couple be granted their right to a fair trial if any offence had been committed.
IHCBA President Wajid Gilani warned that the Bar would respond if the situation was not resolved. “When someone files a bail application, no one has the right to harass them,” he said, stressing respect for legal protections.
Mazari and Chattha first took refuge at the Bar president’s office on Tuesday night after arrest warrants were issued in connection with a newly surfaced FIR registered at Kohsar Police Station on July 26, 2025, following a protest by the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC). The FIR emerged shortly after the Islamabad High Court reinstated their bail in a separate case under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016.
The developments have drawn criticism from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), which termed the FIR “fabricated” and expressed concern over what it described as continued harassment of the couple.
