IHC issues notices on pleas seeking early hearing in Imaan, Hadi sentence suspension case

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday issued notices on a set of applications seeking an early hearing of sentence suspension pleas filed by human rights lawyers Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and Hadi Ali Chatha in a case linked to social media posts.

The matter came up before Justice Muhammad Azam Khan, where counsel for the couple, Faisal Siddiqi, asked the court to fix the case for Monday, May 25. The judge, while issuing notices, said the other side should also be heard before any further order on the request for an early hearing.

Justice Khan also noted that Monday would be the last working day before Eidul Azha and observed that the matter could not be scheduled for that day. In response, Siddiqi told the court that if the other side were to seek an adjournment on Monday, his clients would not oppose it.

During the hearing, Justice Khan indicated that the case would instead be taken up on the first working day after Eid. "Let us hear the other side as well," he remarked, referring to the scheduling issue.

"Now your fate is like this, what should I do?" He later added.

Former Islamabad High Court Bar Association president Riasat Ali Azad also requested the court to fix the matter for Monday, saying that both petitioners were respected members of the legal fraternity. Justice Khan responded that he would first review the court’s cause list for Monday before taking a final view on the request. The couple’s lawyer later agreed to have the case fixed after Eid, following which the hearing was adjourned.

Supreme Court direction and earlier objection

The proceedings come after the Supreme Court on May 12 directed the IHC to decide within two weeks the pleas filed by Imaan and Hadi seeking suspension of their sentence.

A day earlier, Justice Khan had raised objections to the applications because certified copies of the Supreme Court’s order had not been submitted. The judge had directed Siddiqi to place the certified order on record through the court office in line with the prescribed procedure.

Case background

In January, Imaan Mazari-Hazir and Hadi Ali Chatha were sentenced to 17 years in prison in the social media posts case. According to the case details, the sentence included 10 years under Section 10 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 (PECA), which relates to cyber terrorism, five years under Section 9 concerning glorification of an offence, and two years under Section 26-A dealing with false and fake information.

The case arose from a complaint filed on August 12, 2025, by the assistant director, who was also the investigating officer, at the National Cybercrime Investigation Agency in Islamabad before the Cybercrime Reporting Centre of the Federal Investigation Agency under PECA.

According to the complaint, Imaan was accused of disseminating and propagating narratives said to be aligned with hostile terrorist groups and proscribed organisations, while her husband was accused of reposting some of her social media posts.