Pakistani rights lawyer, husband indicted over ‘anti-state’ social media posts

A Pakistani court on Tuesday formally pressed charges against prominent human rights lawyer Imaan Mazari and her husband, Hadi Ali Chatha, in a case tied to a series of social media posts critical of the country’s military.

The case, filed by the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency, 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).

The TTP is a banned umbrella network of militants that has waged a deadly insurgency for nearly two decades, targeting Pakistani security forces and civilians alike.

The BLA is a separatist group active in Balochistan province, which has carried out attacks on military installations, Chinese projects, and government targets in pursuit of an independent Baloch state.

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.