IHC orders re-recording of evidence in Imaan, Hadi case

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court on Tuesday directed a trial court to re-record the statements of prosecution witnesses in the controversial social media posts case against rights activist Imaan Mazari-Hazir and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, setting a three-day deadline for the process.

Justice Muhammad Azam Khan issued the order while hearing a petition filed by Mazari challenging a November 19 trial court decision under which prosecution witnesses were examined despite objections from the defence.

The high court observed that witness testimonies should be recorded afresh and referred the matter back to the trial court, clarifying that it was not commenting on the merits of the case.

During the hearing, defence counsel Riasat Ali Azad informed the court that senior advocate Faisal Siddiqui had submitted his power of attorney but was unavailable due to professional commitments in Lahore. He requested that proceedings be taken up after court vacations.

Azad also pointed out that the Supreme Court had already instructed that the case be decided expeditiously, although no specific timeline had been set. Last week, the apex court had stayed trial proceedings until the Islamabad High Court disposed of the pending appeals.

The prosecutor, Raja Naveed, told the court that the complete case record was available. However, the defence argued that the accused were entitled to safeguards under Article 10A of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to a fair trial, and maintained that procedural requirements had not been properly followed.

Justice Khan questioned whether the statements of four prosecution witnesses had been recorded in the absence of one of the accused. In response, the prosecutor said the conduct of the accused was also relevant to the proceedings.

The defence maintained that recording witness testimony without the presence of the accused violated due process and sought additional time until Monday.

The case originates from a complaint lodged on August 12, 2025 by an investigating officer of the National Cybercrime Investigation Agency at Islamabad’s Cybercrime Reporting Centre under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act.

The complaint alleges that Imaan Mazari shared online content described as promoting narratives aligned with banned organisations, while her husband is accused of reposting some of the material.