Controversial tweets case: Imaan Mazari, Hadi Chatha’s sentence suspension pleas adjourned till Sept 23

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court on Tuesday adjourned until September 23 the hearing of petitions seeking suspension of the sentences handed down to rights activists Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband, Hadi Ali Chatha, in the controversial social media posts case.

Justice Azam Khan heard the petitions while lawyers Faisal Siddiqi, Riasat Ali Azad and Zainab Janjua, among others, appeared on behalf of the petitioners.

The hearing could not make progress due to the absence of the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) legal adviser and prosecutor, prompting the court to defer the matter.

Supreme Court had sought early hearing

The latest hearing follows proceedings before the Supreme Court on August 21, when a two-member bench headed by Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan adjourned until September 17 applications filed by Mazari and Chatha seeking an early hearing of their criminal appeal.

The applicants had challenged the IHC’s February 19, 2026 decision refusing to suspend their 17-year sentences in the controversial social media posts case.

Their counsel, Faisal Siddiqi, told the Supreme Court that it had previously directed the IHC to decide the applications seeking suspension of sentence within two weeks. He expressed concern that the matter had repeatedly been fixed before the high court when the Supreme Court took up the case.

Additional Attorney General Rana Asad, however, said the IHC had its own system for fixing cases and that the matters were being scheduled accordingly.

The Supreme Court noted that the IHC’s annual vacation would end on September 6, after which regular proceedings would resume. The government’s counsel also argued that the applications seeking suspension of sentence were not maintainable.

Earlier, on July 21, the Supreme Court had adjourned proceedings after being informed that the IHC had already fixed the sentence suspension application in the main appeal.