Pakistani court issues arrest warrants for human rights lawyer, husband
NCCIA and Islamabad police raided the lawyers' home Tuesday night to deliver warrants but made no arrests
Ali Hamza
Correspondent
Ali; a journalist with 3 years of experience, working in Newspaper. Worked in Field, covered Big Legal Constitutional and Political Events in Pakistan since 2022. Graduate of DePaul University, Chicago.
A Pakistani court on Tuesday escalated proceedings in a controversial tweets case against human rights lawyer Imaan Mazari and her husband Hadi Ali Chatha, issuing non-bailable arrest warrants for both.
The case was heard by Additional District and Sessions Judge Afzal Majoka, who ordered that Mazari and Chatha be arrested and presented before the court after they failed to appear for the hearing.
The court also issued notices regarding the cancellation of their bail. Proceedings were adjourned until Wednesday.
Later Tuesday night, a team from the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA), accompanied by Islamabad police, raided the homes of Mazari and Chatha to serve the non-bailable arrest warrants. The team delivered the warrants but left without making arrests.
Imaan Mazari, husband indicted
Earlier in the day, a court in Islamabad formally pressed charges against Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chatha for a series of social media posts critical of the country’s military.
The case, filed by the NCCIA, was registered in a district and sessions court in Islamabad.
Authorities said the posts, shared between 2021 and 2025, were “anti-state” and accused the armed forces of failing to curb militancy, fostering terrorism, and committing enforced disappearances in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.
Additional District and Sessions Judge Mohammad Afzal Majoka read out the charges in the couple’s absence, while their lawyer appeared on their behalf. The court later summoned prosecution witnesses.
Mazari, the daughter of former human rights minister Shireen Mazari, is known for her outspoken criticism of Pakistan’s military and advocacy for victims of enforced disappearances.
The accusations against her and Chatha specifically reference militant groups such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA).
Rights groups have long warned that Pakistan’s cybercrime laws are being used to stifle dissent, with critics accusing authorities of conflating free expression with anti-state activity.
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