- WEB DESK
- September 17, 2026
Supreme Court suspends sentences of Imaan Mazari, Hadi Ali Chattha, orders release
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- WEB DESK | Nadir Baloch
- September 17, 2026
The Supreme Court on Thursday approved the sentence-suspension petitions filed by lawyers Imaan Mazari-Hazir and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, suspending the sentences handed down to them by the trial court.
The court also granted bail to Imaan and ordered her release against surety bonds of Rs200,000. The development comes amid continued legal proceedings in the case involving the two lawyers, who had challenged their convictions and sought suspension of their sentences.
Imaan’s mother and former minister, Shireen Mazari broke down while saying they had continued to pray for the couple’s release. She also expressed gratitude to all those who had supported them. Imaan’s lawyer, Faisal Siddiqui, said he was very happy that they had managed to secure her release.
The SC further directed that the trial court’s verdict against Imaan and Chattha be suspended.
The proceedings
The two-member bench headed by Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan included Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim.
At the outset, Justice Afghan asked the lawyers to explain what had happened following the Supreme Court’s earlier order in the case. “Tell us what happened after the Supreme Court’s first order,” he asked.
The counsel told the court that the first order had been issued on May 12, directing the Islamabad High Court to decide the case within two weeks. The lawyer then read out the order sheets from various hearings held before the IHC, explaining that the case had been adjourned several times.
“The Islamabad High Court adjourned the case multiple times,” the lawyer said, adding that the IHC registrar had also rejected a request for an early hearing.
“What happened at the High Court was a surprise to us,” the counsel said.
Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim remarked, “These are the times of surprises.”
The court directed Additional Attorney General Rana Asad to take his seat and said it would first hear the arguments of Mazari and Chattha’s lawyer, Faisal Siddiqui.
“First, we will hear the arguments of Faisal Siddiqui,” Justice Afghan said.
The SC subsequently approved the sentence-suspension petitions and suspended the sentences handed down to both petitioners. It also suspended the trial court’s verdict against Mazari and Chattha and granted them bail until the Islamabad High Court reaches a final decision in the case.
Justice Afghan said the court was mindful that both petitioners were lawyers. “Both are lawyers, and we are respecting that,” he remarked.
However, he stressed that they were also expected to maintain the decorum of the court. “Tell them that they should also take care of the decorum of the court,” Justice Afghan said.
“There is a difference between a lawyer and an ordinary person,” he added.
Peca case and convictions
The case against lawyers Imaan and her husband, Chattha, stems from a complaint filed by the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) in Islamabad on Aug. 12, 2025 under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca).
According to the FIR, Mazari was accused of disseminating and “propagating narratives that align with hostile terrorist groups and proscribed organisations”, while Chattha was implicated for reposting some of her social media posts.
The allegations included holding security forces responsible for cases involving missing persons in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan and portraying the armed forces as ineffective against proscribed groups, including the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
An Islamabad sessions court on Jan. 24, 2026 sentenced the couple to a combined 17 years in prison on multiple Peca charges.
The convictions prompted criticism from sections of the legal community and UN experts, while Mazari and Chattha challenged the verdict before the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Feb. 7.
On July 25, the IHC declared their petitions seeking suspension of their sentences admissible after rejecting a prosecution objection that the pleas were premature.
The case subsequently became the focus of concerns raised by lawyers’ bodies, who questioned the delay in deciding the sentence-suspension applications.
Lawyers demand implementation of SC order
A day before the latest Supreme Court hearing, leaders of the Islamabad Bar Council, Islamabad High Court Bar Association and Islamabad District Bar Association called for the immediate implementation of an earlier Supreme Court direction concerning the suspension of Mazari and Chattha’s sentences.
Speaking at a joint press conference, Islamabad Bar Council member Advocate Aleem Abbasi said both petitioners were members of the bar and alleged that their trial had been conducted hastily.
He said appeals against their convictions had been filed before the IHC but alleged that “delaying tactics” had been used in the proceedings. According to Abbasi, the matter was subsequently taken to the Supreme Court, which directed the IHC to decide the couple’s sentence-suspension applications within two weeks.
“Four months have passed, but the Supreme Court’s decision is still not being implemented,” Abbasi said.
Abbasi stressed that the right to a fair trial applied regardless of the nature of the alleged offence. “Whatever the offence may be, every accused or convicted person has the right to a fair trial,” he said, adding that the lawyers were only demanding that the couple be provided the rights guaranteed by the Constitution.
He also said another hearing before the Supreme Court was scheduled for Thursday and called for an immediate decision. Abbasi warned that failure to implement the court’s direction would create “chaos”, while saying the situation had exposed shortcomings in the system.
The lawyers’ bodies have maintained that their demand concerns the implementation of constitutional and legal rights rather than the merits of the allegations against the couple.
The case has also drawn wider attention because of the sentences imposed under Peca and the debate over the treatment of lawyers and human rights advocates facing prosecution over social media activity.
Journalists and civil society reacts
Following the news, civil society and the journalist community took to social media welcoming the decision.
