Supreme Court asks Islamabad High Court to examine Imaan Mazari petition
Supreme Court directed the Islamabad High Court to examine the Imaan Mazari petition after Justice Mazhar said it may have become infructuous
Aamir Abbasi
Editor, Islamabad
Aamir; a journalist with 15 years of experience, working in Newspaper, TV and Digital Media. Worked in Field, covered Big Legal Constitutional and Political Events in Pakistan since 2009 with Pakistan’s Top Media Organizations. Graduate of Quaid I Azam University Islamabad.
The couple has been in custody since January 23 over a protest outside the Islamabad High Court.
Courtesy: Pakistan Today
Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Islamabad High Court to examine lawyer and human rights activist Imaan Mazari’s petition in the security breach case against her and her husband.
A three-member bench headed by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar questioned whether her conviction had made the petition irrelevant.
What did the Supreme Court tell the Islamabad High Court about Imaan Mazari’s petition?
The Supreme Court told the high court to examine the matter and decide it in accordance with the law. The direction followed arguments from Mazari’s counsel that a revision petition was still pending before the high court, which could rule on maintainability.
The hearing took place days after Mazari and her husband, lawyer Hadi Ali Chattha, challenged their convictions in the Islamabad High Court.
What did Justice Mazhar say during the hearing?
Justice Mazhar observed that the petition appeared to have become infructuous following Mazari’s conviction. “How can we issue directions to the Islamabad High Court when the matter has become infructuous?” the judge remarked.
Mazari’s counsel, Faisal Siddiqui, told the court that a revision petition remained pending before the high court. He argued that the high court could determine whether the petition was maintainable and requested that it also consider the objections raised against it.
Why were Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha sentenced?
On October 29, an anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi sentenced Mazari and Chattha to 10 years in prison each. The court also imposed fines of 100,000 rupees on both under the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997.
The case was registered at Islamabad’s Aabpara police station over allegations that the couple had posed a security threat by interfering in state affairs during an international cricket team’s visit to Pakistan in October 2024.
The couple has remained in custody since their arrest on January 23 in connection with a separate case involving a protest outside the Islamabad High Court.
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