Pakistan's Supreme Court has scheduled a July 6 hearing on petitions seeking suspension of the prison sentences handed to human rights lawyer Imaan Mazari and her husband, lawyer Hadi Ali Chattha. The move follows the Islamabad High Court's failure to rule on the matter despite an earlier order from the apex court.
When will the Supreme Court hear Imaan Mazari's sentence suspension case?
The Supreme Court will hear Imaan Mazari and Hadi Chattha's sentence suspension petitions on July 6. A three-member bench comprising Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Musarrat Hilali and Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan will hear the case. The hearing comes after the Islamabad High Court missed an earlier deadline to rule on the matter.
Why were Imaan Mazari and Hadi Chattha sentenced?
Mazari and Chattha were convicted in January 2026 over social media posts and sentenced to a combined 17 years in prison. The sentence was split across three sections of Pakistan's Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act: 10 years for cyber terrorism, five years for glorification of an offence, and two years for disseminating false information. They have been in custody since January 24, following their arrest days earlier outside the Islamabad High Court.
The case has drawn international criticism from rights groups, including the International Commission of Jurists and CIVICUS. These groups have called the prosecution a reprisal for the couple's human rights work and have demanded their release.
What did the Supreme Court order on May 12?
On May 12, a separate three-member Supreme Court bench, comprising Justice Shahid Waheed, Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Justice Shafi Siddiqui, directed the Islamabad High Court to decide the sentence suspension applications within two weeks. The bench kept the matter pending before the apex court itself. The high court missed that deadline.
Why did the Islamabad High Court delay a ruling?
On June 2, Justice Muhammad Azam Khan adjourned proceedings until June 4 after prosecutors said members of the special prosecution team were unavailable. One prosecutor was traveling from Lahore, while another was appearing before a different bench. Defense counsel Riasat Ali Azad noted during the hearing that the Supreme Court's two-week deadline had already lapsed.
Counsel Faisal Siddiqi asked that proceedings resume once the prosecutor became available and urged the court to bar further adjournment requests. Justice Azam Khan acknowledged that repeated delays were undesirable and that all parties remained bound by the Supreme Court's order. He adjourned the hearing without issuing a substantive ruling.
What has Pakistan's cybercrime agency argued in the case?
Pakistan's National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency, which filed the original case against the couple, has petitioned the Supreme Court to withdraw its May 12 directive. The agency argues that decisions on sentence suspension fall within the jurisdiction of the high court. It says the apex court should not intervene in matters already pending there.
With the Islamabad High Court still undecided, the Supreme Court has now listed the matter for hearing before its own bench on July 6.
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