Pakistan court grants bail to lawyers Mazari and Chattha in protest-related cases

A Pakistani anti-terrorism court granted bail on Friday to lawyers Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha in two separate cases related to protests.

However, the couple remains incarcerated pending bail in a separate post-trial case over controversial social media posts in which they have already been convicted for 17 years.

The Islamabad Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC), presided over by Judge Abu Al-Hasnat Zulqarnain, approved the bail applications against surety bonds of Rs5,000 each and ordered the release of the two lawyers in the relevant cases.

One case stemmed from a demonstration outside the Islamabad High Court, registered following a complaint by Wajid Gilani. The other involved a protest by families of missing persons outside the National Press Club.

Advocate Aimal Khan Mandokhail, representing Mazari and Chattha, argued that neither client engaged in violence or altercations. He said the demonstrations were peaceful and that the Press Club case was baseless, asserting that the lawyers’ advocacy for victims of enforced disappearances had prompted the complaints.

Prosecutors opposed the bail pleas, but the court approved them after hearing arguments from both sides. With the ruling, Mazari and Chattha remain in custody only in connection with a separate case involving a series of controversial tweets, which is being heard by Justice Muhammad Asif of the Islamabad High Court. Bail has been granted in all other cases.

Controversial tweets case

The ongoing social media case is being investigated by Pakistan’s National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA), which alleges that Mazari and Chattha posted tweets deemed supportive of banned militant organizations. Authorities say some posts, made between 2021 and 2025, accused the armed forces of failing to combat militancy, fostering terrorism, and committing enforced disappearances in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.

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 allegations against her and Chattha specifically reference groups such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA).