The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday issued notices to the additional attorney general and other respondents regarding petitions filed by lawyers Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha. They are seeking suspension of their convictions in the case related to ‘controversial tweets.’ The hearing was adjourned until July 21.
A three-judge bench, led by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and including Justice Musarrat Hilali and Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan, presided over the proceedings. Initially, the bench proposed scheduling the hearing for the following week, but after a request from counsel Faisal Siddiqi, the court agreed to postpone it to July 21 and issued notices to the respondents.
During the session, Siddiqi highlighted that the Supreme Court had previously directed the high court to decide on the suspension of sentence applications within two weeks, while the case remained pending before the apex court. He pointed out that although the high court had set hearing dates for May 20 and then June 4, the June 4 hearing was canceled and the matter has not been rescheduled since. An urgent application for an early hearing was also dismissed without fixing a new date.
Justice Mazhar remarked that the Supreme Court usually refrains from interfering with interim orders issued by the high court. He also noted that the prosecution had not yet been served notices by the high court.
Siddiqi urged the Supreme Court to instruct the high court to promptly schedule the case and decide on the suspension requests, emphasizing that the petitioners should not face unnecessary delays. He stated, “Even if the decision goes against us, at least the case should be heard,” adding that such a situation was unprecedented in his experience.
In a significant development, the case originated from a complaint filed under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) in August 2025 with the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA). Mazari is accused of sharing social media content allegedly linked to hostile organizations, while her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, is charged with reposting some of this material.
Prosecutors claim the posts criticized Pakistan’s security forces concerning enforced disappearances in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan and attempted to depict the state as supporting terrorism. Both were indicted in October 2025.
Their legal challenges escalated when a trial court canceled their bail due to repeated absences, issued arrest warrants, revoked their right to cross-examine witnesses, and ordered authorities to produce them before the court within 24 hours. On the same day, the Islamabad High Court granted them one-day protective bail, preventing their arrest until the following day to allow for legal recourse.
However, the couple was later arrested near Serena Chowk in Islamabad on January 23 while en route to the district courts.
