An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Islamabad on Tuesday granted bail to lawyers Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha in a case involving allegations of blocking a road and clashing with police, The Express Tribune reported.
ATC Judge Abual Hasnat Muhammad Zulqarnain heard the bail applications and approved them against surety bonds of Rs5,000 each. Lawyer Riasat Ali Azad appeared for the couple. During the hearing police submitted the case record, and the judge asked whether the parties wished to make further submissions before announcing his decision. Referring to a show-cause notice issued to the police, he said: “I will look into the matter concerning the show-cause notice to the police.”
What the case is about
According to the First Information Report (FIR), registered at Islamabad’s Kohsar Police Station last year, the case concerns a protest in the grounds of the Islamabad Press Club. The FIR says Mazari and Chattha led a Baloch Student Council protest attended by at least 150 people, that participants raised anti-state slogans and slogans against state institutions through loudspeakers and megaphones, and that they obstructed police from carrying out their duties.
It was filed under Sections 186, 188, 341, 353 and 506 of the Pakistan Penal Code. The FIR says the participants took out a rally and blocked a road, after police told them this was against Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The report describes these as allegations in the FIR; they have not been proven in court.
A week of court rulings
Tuesday’s decision came less than a week after another ATC sentenced the pair to 10 years in prison each in a separate case, over the removal of security barriers. We reported that verdict in our story on the 10-year sentence. The sentences in that case were 1 year under Section 186 and 2 years under Section 353 of the Penal Code with fines of Rs50,000 each, and ten years under Section 7(h) of the Anti-Terrorism Act with a fine of Rs100,000 each, according to the order.
The earlier cases
The couple was arrested in October 2024 on terrorism charges after a confrontation with traffic police, who had barricaded an area to secure the movement of the English cricket team. They were accused of interfering with government protocol.
In January, they were handed a combined 17-year sentence in a separate case linked to social media posts that the prosecution said amounted to an anti-state narrative under cybercrime laws. That month they applied to have their sentences suspended. They were re-arrested on September 17, shortly after the Supreme Court granted them bail and suspended their sentences in the social media case, and were produced before an Islamabad ATC in the Kohsar case.
What we know, and what we don’t
- Known: the ATC granted bail in the road-blockade case against Rs5,000 bonds each.
- Known: a separate 10-year sentence in the barrier case was handed down within the past week.
- Unknown: whether the couple will be released, since the report does not say whether other cases or sentences keep them in custody; the 10-year sentence is still in force unless suspended.
- Unknown: what action the judge will take on the show-cause notice to the police.
Why it matters
The cases against the two lawyers have moved through several courts in a short time, with bail, sentences, suspensions and re-arrests following one another. Each ruling shows how the same events can lead to different outcomes depending on the court. Whether the bail changes their situation depends on the remaining cases, which the reports leave open, and on appeals that may follow.
This article draws on reporting by The Express Tribune.
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