What happened
According to Dawn, an anti-terrorism court in Islamabad has formally indicted lawyer couple Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and Hadi Ali Chattha. The indictment stems from charges that the two disrupted the security route reserved for an international cricket team and incited public unrest. The name of the cricket team was not specified in the source; please check the official notice.
Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra directed the proceedings, while both defendants appeared before the court through a video link. The court decided to move forward with the formal framing of charges despite objections raised by the defense regarding unfulfilled legal requirements.
Key facts
- Procedural Objections: Defendant Hadi Ali Chattha and defense counsel Zainab Janjua opposed the indictment, arguing that copies of the case documents had not been provided and that the accused were barred from consulting their attorneys.
- Court Directives: Judge Sipra informed the defendants of their right to contest the decision. He called for prosecution witnesses to attend the next session and adjourned the case until Friday, October 9.
- Technical Delays: An earlier session was delayed due to a power outage that prevented the defendants from appearing via video link, leading the judge to warn jail officials of potential contempt proceedings if compliance failed.
Why it matters
According to Dawn, this trial follows several months of ongoing litigation involving the couple:
- They were originally arrested on January 23 following a demonstration outside the Islamabad High Court.
- A sessions court later handed them a 17-year sentence under electronic crimes laws over social media posts, a ruling that faced criticism from international organizations and legal experts.
- The Supreme Court suspended their 17-year sentence on September 17 pending appeal outcomes.
- Within hours of that suspension, local police rearrested the couple in relation to a separate complaint filed in March of the previous year concerning road blockades and anti-government slogans.
Source: Dawn - Home · Published October 07, 2026 · Photo by Irina Vinichenko on Unsplash