ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Thursday granted bail to human rights lawyer and activist Imaan Mazari and her husband, lawyer Hadi Ali Chattha, offering the couple temporary relief while their case remains before the Islamabad High Court (IHC).
The top court made it clear that the bail was linked to the pending proceedings before the IHC, where the couple has challenged their sentences and sought suspension of their punishment, reported by The Express Tribune.
Mazari and Chattha were sentenced in January 2026 to 17 years in prison each over multiple charges relating to social media posts. The prosecution had alleged that the posts promoted an anti-state narrative under cybercrime laws. The couple has denied the allegations and challenged the convictions.
During Thursday’s hearing, Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan reminded the two lawyers of the dignity and responsibilities attached to their profession. He said they were being given respect as members of the legal community and should also maintain the decorum of the court.
The case has moved through several stages in the courts, with the question of their sentence suspension remaining unresolved for months. The Supreme Court had earlier directed the IHC to decide their applications within two weeks. However, proceedings before the high court were repeatedly delayed.
The couple was arrested on January 23 near the Serena Hotel while travelling to the district courts. An anti terrorism court later sent them to judicial remand.
A district and sessions court subsequently awarded each of them a 17 year sentence under different provisions of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA). They were also fined millions of rupees. However, the trial court acquitted them of a separate hate-speech charge after prosecution witnesses failed to support that allegation.
Mazari later approached the Supreme Court, arguing that the trial proceedings had violated constitutional guarantees of due process and a fair trial. The prosecution, meanwhile, challenged the Supreme Court’s intervention, maintaining that the matter was already pending before the high court.
The IHC had reserved its decision on the maintainability of the couple’s sentence suspension applications in July. The proceedings have since remained at the centre of a prolonged legal battle.
Thursday’s bail order now gives Mazari and Chattha relief while the judicial process continues and the IHC considers the next stage of their case.
