The Supreme Court has suspended the sentences of lawyers Imaan Mazari and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, and ordered their release on bail until the Islamabad High Court decides their appeals.
A two-member bench headed by Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan heard the petitions filed by Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha on Thursday. The court approved their bail against surety bonds of Rs200,000 each.
During the hearing, counsel for the petitioners, Faisal Siddiqui, presented order sheets from various hearings before the Islamabad High Court. He told the court that the Supreme Court had directed the high court on May 12 to decide the applications seeking suspension of their sentences within two weeks.
According to the counsel, despite the May 12 order, the matter did not progress and the case was adjourned several times before the Islamabad High Court.
Siddiqui also told the court that an application seeking an early hearing of the sentence suspension petitions had been rejected by the registrar’s office of the Islamabad High Court.
In his arguments, Siddiqui referred to a previous remark by former judge Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, saying that, according to the remark, a case should only be adjourned in the event of the death of a judge or a lawyer.
Referring to the repeated adjournments before the Islamabad High Court, Siddiqui said what had happened there was a surprise to him. Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim responded, “These days are an era of surprises.”
While granting bail, Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan said that both petitioners were lawyers and that the court was respecting their status. He added that they should also be told to observe the decorum of the court, saying there was a difference between a lawyer and an ordinary person.
The Islamabad District and Sessions Court had sentenced Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha to a total of 17 years in prison each on January 24, 2026, in a case concerning social media posts.
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The trial court had convicted both under various provisions of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), including five years under Section 9, 10 years under Section 10 and two years under Section 26-A.
Imaan Mazari and Hadi Chattha had approached the Islamabad High Court against the trial court’s decision on February 7, 2026.
The Islamabad High Court subsequently declared their applications for suspension of sentence maintainable, opening the way for regular hearings on the petitions.
On May 12, the Supreme Court directed the Islamabad High Court to decide the applications seeking suspension of sentence within two weeks. However, despite the expiry of the stipulated period on May 26, the matter remained pending. Later, applications seeking an early hearing were filed again before the Supreme Court.
