Imaan Mazari’s husband Hadi Ali Chattha arrested outside Islamabad court

ISLAMABAD: Advocate Hadi Ali Chattha, the husband of human rights lawyer and activist Imaan Mazari, was arrested moments after an Islamabad court issued his arrest warrants in a controversial tweet case.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka heard the case against Mazari and Chattha on Wednesday.

The court issued arrest warrants for Chattha, who was taken into custody immediately after leaving the courtroom.

The judge ordered that Chattha be arrested and produced before the court tomorrow. The court later adjourned the hearing until Thursday.

As soon as the proceedings concluded, the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) officials arrested Hadi Ali Chattha outside the courtroom.

It may be recalled that on September 30, charges were framed against Imaan Mazari and Hadi Chattha by Judge Majoka. Both defendants were absent at the time.

The NCCIA had submitted a seven-page charge sheet against the accused, which also listed four prosecution witnesses — all employees of the agency.

The document included excerpts from Imaan Mazari’s tweets, noting that Chattha had retweeted them.

The NCCIA had earlier registered a case against the activist couple, accusing them in the FIR of attempting to stoke ethnic divisions through their social media posts.

The FIR also alleged that Mazari and Chattha had blamed security forces for enforced disappearances in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

The case was registered under Sections 9, 10, 11, and 26 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA).

Earlier, the district and sessions court in Islamabad issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Imaan Mazari-Hazir and Hadi Ali Chattha in a case related to controversial tweets against the state and national security institutions.

Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka had heard the case but the couple did not show up. The judge had ordered to arrest and produce the couple before the court on September 24.

Earlier, the court had issued summons to both Mazari and Chattha.

Their counsel had filed a plea seeking cancellation of the warrants, but the court rejected the request. The hearing was adjourned till September 24.