ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) will hear the applications of human rights lawyers Imaan Mazari and her husband Hadi Ali Chattha for suspension of their sentence in social media posts case tomorrow (Monday).
A single bench of Justice Muhammad Azam Khan in the last hearing had ordered Imaan and Hadi’s counsel to submit a certified copy of the Supreme Court’s May 12 order, wherein directions were given to the IHC to decide the couple’s plea within two weeks.
READ ALSO: IHC to hear Imaan, Hadi’s sentence suspension pleas in social media posts case on June 1
The couple – Imaan and Hadi – has been in jail since their arrest in January in the case registered against it for protesting outside the IHC and allegedly manhandling the IHC Bar Association (IHCBA) president.
The controversy at the centre of the case stems from a complaint filed on August 12, 2025, by the NCCIA Islamabad assistant director (investigating officer) before the Cybercrime Reporting Centre, FIA, under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 (Peca).
The complaint accused Imaan of propagating narratives that align with hostile terrorist groups and proscribed organisations, while her husband was implicated for reposting some of her posts.
The sessions court, in January, sentenced the duo to 10 years’ imprisonment under Section 10 (cyber terrorism), five years’ imprisonment under Section 9 (glorification of an offence) and two years’ imprisonment under Section 26-A (false and fake information) of Peca.
In December 2025, the couple challenged the IHC’s decision before the apex court for refusing interim relief in the case. The appeal was filed against a December 1 IHC order that denied ad-interim relief of staying the trial without a just legal cause.
On May 11, their counsel submitted additional documents to the SC in relevance to the appeal, consisting of the charge sheets of different dates against the petitioners, their statements before the trial court and the orders issued by the court.
The petitioners pleaded before the SC to allow bringing these documents on record in the interest of justice since they were “essential and relevant for adjudication of the present case”.
They explained that the said documents were not available at the time of filing the appeal, since the paper books were not prepared by the office of the IHC; the trial record was obtained after filing the appeals.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
Comments