Islamabad court questions failure to bring Imaan Mazari and Hadi Chattha to hearing

An Islamabad anti-terrorism court demanded a written explanation on October 10 after Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha were not brought to a hearing. A jail administration report cited by Dawn said police had failed to provide the required escort.

The hearing concerned a case over removing security barriers erected for the English cricket team. The couple were indicted on Tuesday. Both objected, saying they had not received the case record or been allowed to meet their lawyers.

Neither accused initially appeared, and no jail representative attended to explain their absence. Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra instructed prosecutors and police to contact prison authorities and demanded a written explanation through WhatsApp by 11am.

Advocate Aimal Khan referred to an earlier order requiring participation in person or by video link. The couple subsequently appeared remotely. Shireen Mazari and lawyers Zainab Janjua and Aimal Khan also attended. The judge instructed a prison official to provide chairs for the accused.

Janjua said the indictment had been challenged in the Islamabad High Court, with the petition due to be heard on Monday. She requested a delay and also cited the unavailability of senior counsel Riasat Ali Azad. The judge said the high court challenge did not automatically halt the trial.

Speaking by video link, Chattha said the couple respected the court and had regularly attended its hearings. He questioned whether repeated failures to bring them to court protected their fair-trial rights. After an adjournment, the judge said the jail report attributed their absence to the lack of a police escort.

The court did not grant the request to drop terrorism charges at that stage. Dawn reported that it cited the inability to provide that relief without hearing arguments from the couple’s lawyers, who had boycotted proceedings. Janjua argued that the state was seeking witness testimony while failing to ensure the accused could attend.

Sipra also temporarily banned mobile phones in the courtroom after asking about photographs from an earlier hearing. The restriction was lifted following a request from court reporters.

Dawn recalled the couple’s January 23 arrest in a case involving a protest outside the Islamabad High Court and alleged manhandling of the local bar association president. The next day, a court imposed 17-year prison terms on charges involving social media posts under PECA. Lawyers and United Nations experts criticised the convictions.

On September 17, the Supreme Court suspended those sentences and ordered release pending the final decision on their appeals. Hours later, police arrested the couple in another case, and an anti-terrorism court placed them on judicial remand.

That separate case was registered at Kohsar police station on March 22 last year following a complaint by Ghulam Murtaza Chandio. It alleged anti-government slogans and road blocking. No Anti-Terrorism Act provision was included when the case was first registered. The original complaint listed sections 188, 341, 506, 353 and 186 concerning disobedience of an official order, wrongful restraint, intimidation and obstruction or force against public servants.