Imaan, her husband: ATC directs Adiala Jail authorities to obtain power of attorney documents

ISLAMABAD: An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Thursday directed Adiala Jail authorities to obtain the power of attorney documents of human rights lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari and her husband, advocate Hadi Ali Chattha, from the sessions court, have them signed by the accused, and provide the defence counsel with these documents.

ATC Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra, while hearing the case, directed Adiala Jail authorities to have the power of attorney documents signed and provide them to the defence lawyers.

Defence lawyers, including Riasat Ali Azad and Zainab Janjua, along with the deputy superintendent of Adiala Jail, appeared before the court.

During the hearing, Riasat Ali Azad told the court that he had received the power of attorney of Hadi Ali Chattha, but did not receive the power of attorney of Imaan Mazari.

The judge said that matters relating to power of attorney at the jail fall under the jurisdiction of the sessions court. The court summoned a report from Adiala Jail following the request of the defence lawyers.

Deputy Superintendent Adiala Jail presented a report before the court. As per the jail register and digital record, neither Mazari’s nor Chattha’s power of attorney reached the jail, he said.

The judge said that the power of attorney for Hadi Ali Chattha had been produced before the court. To this, the deputy superintendent said that the power of attorney of Chattha did not bear his signature. He said that he had told Superintendent Adiala Jail to verify the signature. He said that he had not signed Chatha’s power of attorney.

Lawyer Zainab Janjua argued that she had met the deputy superintendent at the jail on Monday last and had been told that the power of attorney documents would be processed within a day or two.

Riasat Ali Azad said that both suspects had been sent to jail on the court’s order. He questioned how one suspect’s power of attorney could have surfaced while the other’s was missing. “This is an unusual case; we have not been receiving the power of attorney documents from the jail for a week,” he said.

The judge said that if the order regarding sending the accused to jail had not been challenged, it should not be criticised.

Azad said that if the order was valid, both suspects were in the custody of the jail authorities and that the authorities would be responsible if anything happened to them.

The judge then asked the lawyer, from where you had obtained Hadi Ali Chattha’s power of attorney. The lawyer replied that we had received Chattha’s power of attorney from the Sessions Court.

The judge said that the jail authorities had not refused Chattha’s signature or thumb impression. They only stated that the document did not bear the deputy superintendent’s signature, the judge said.

The deputy superintendent said that he had told the lawyers to submit the documents through the proper process. He said that the jail had not received the power of attorney documents for either Mazari or Chattha.

He also said that an inquiry was underway to determine how the signatures on the disputed document had appeared. The judge told defence counsel to approach the authority from which the documents had been processed. The court adjourned the hearing of the case till September 26.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026