ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court granted bail to human rights lawyer Imaan Mazari and her husband Hadi Ali Chattha and suspended the trial court’s February 19 decision in the controversial tweet case.
A two-judge bench, comprising Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim, on Thursday heard the couple’s appeals against the Islamabad High Court (IHC) verdict, which had refused to suspend their sentences.
The bench stated that the relief was being granted pending the final decision in the case before the IHC.
The IHC on September 8 had fixed the case for hearing Imaan and Chattha’s applications seeking suspension of their sentences. However, the hearing was adjourned without any proceedings. The SC had earlier directed the IHC to decide the applications within two weeks.
The couple in January 2026 was handed 17 years sentence on multiple charges linked to controversial social media posts that the prosecution argued amounted to an anti-state narrative under cybercrime laws. Imaan and Chattha had filed applications for suspension of their sentences in January.
During the proceedings, Justice Afghan said, “Both are lawyers; we are respecting their dignity. Tell them too to observe the decorum of the court,” he said, adding that there was a difference between a lawyer and an ordinary person.
Additional Attorney General Rana Asad opposed the bail, saying the IHC had not yet issued any decision against the prosecution. “The High Court has not yet issued any decision against us. Seven opportunities were provided before the trial court,” he added. He further said that the High Court was the appropriate judicial forum for suspension of sentence under Section 426.
Justice Afghan questioned the repeated adjournments, saying the High Court judge would mention the SC’s order in the order before adjourning the case. He observed, “When the case comes before the SC, a new date is fixed in the High Court. The IHC is, in its own way, preventing the SC from functioning,” he said.
Justice Afghan asked what had happened after the SC’s first order in the case.
Advocate Faisal Siddiqui said the SC had issued its first order on May 12 and directed the IHC to decide the case within two weeks. He then read out the order sheets from various hearings before the IHC.
During the proceedings, the court directed an additional attorney general to take a seat. “We will first hear Advocate Faisal Siddiqui’s arguments,” Justice Afghan said.
Siddiqui then referred to repeated adjournments of the case before the IHC and recalled a remark by former chief justice Asif Saeed Khosa.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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