Court allows bail for Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha amid ongoing legal battles

An anti-terrorism court in Islamabad on Thursday granted post-arrest bail to lawyer and activist Imaan Mazari and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, in a case linked to an alleged scuffle with police outside the Islamabad High Court.

The couple had been taken into custody last month by Islamabad police over accusations of involvement in an altercation near the high court premises. The case was registered at the Secretariat Police Station.

The bail applications were heard by Anti-Terrorism Court Judge Abul Hasnat Muhammad Zulqarnain, who approved their release against surety bonds of Rs10,000 each.

Representing the petitioners, counsel Riasat Ali Azad argued that the case was baseless and concocted. He contended that the FIR lacked legal grounds and was built on a fabricated narrative, adding that even those named in the complaint were initially unaware of its existence.

After hearing arguments from both sides, the court reserved its decision and later announced that the bail pleas had been accepted.

Despite the relief granted in the scuffle case, the couple will remain incarcerated following their conviction in a separate matter concerning controversial social media posts.

In a related development, the Islamabad High Court issued notices to the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency on petitions filed by Mazari and Chattha challenging their conviction. In their separate appeals, they argued that the trial proceedings were unlawful and arbitrary, and sought suspension of their sentences along with bail pending the outcome of their main appeals.

Their conviction came a day after their arrest in the scuffle case last month, when Additional Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka sentenced both to a cumulative 17 years in prison under various provisions of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca), 2016.

According to the 22-page written verdict, each was awarded five years’ imprisonment and fined Rs5 million under Section 9 of Peca, along with 10 years’ imprisonment and a Rs30 million fine under Section 10. They were also sentenced to two years each with a Rs1 million fine under Section 26-A of the law.

The couple had been booked by the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency under Sections 9, 10, 11 and 26 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016, and were indicted on October 30, 2025. The FIR alleged that their social media posts were intended to incite linguistic divisions.