Human Rights Lawyer Imaan Mazari and Husband Haadi Chatha Released on Bail in Security Breach Case

Prominent human rights lawyer Imaan Mazari and her husband, advocate Haadi Ali Chatha, were released from jail following the Islamabad Anti-Terrorism Court’s (ATC) approval of their bail in a case related to a security breach.

Judge Tahir Abbas of the ATC granted bail on a surety bond of Rs20,000 after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) overturned the couple’s three-day physical remand order.

The case, heard by IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz, involved attorneys Qaiser Imam and Zainab Janjua representing Mazari and Chatha. During proceedings, the prosecution presented the remand request and cited the court’s prior order.

The IHC ultimately nullified the physical remand and ordered judicial remand instead.

Mazari and Chatha had been detained in Islamabad on Monday after reportedly removing barriers placed for the England cricket team’s security convoy. The FIR against them includes multiple sections from the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), covering charges of obstructing public servants, rioting, and criminal intimidation, as well as Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) for acts of terrorism.

The FIR, filed by Sub-Inspector Tanveer Athar, claimed that Mazari incited the public and called for barriers to be removed, while Chatha allegedly threatened and slapped a police officer on site.