Roads to Karachi Press Club blocked as protests break out over conviction of Imaan and Hadi

All roads leading to the Karachi Press Club (KPC) were blocked on Monday as traffic in the city center came to a standstill following a protest against the conviction of lawyer and activist Imaan Mazari and her husband, lawyer Hadi Ali Chattha, in a case related to controversial social media posts.

Mazari and Chattha were arrested on Friday in Islamabad when they were reportedly on their way to the district courts. An anti-terrorism court subsequently remanded them to judicial remand for 14 days. The next day, a district and sessions court convicted the couple in a case involving controversial social media posts and sentenced them to 17 years in prison.

Read more: Lawyers Imaan and Hadi sent to 14-day judicial remand by Islamabad ATC after arrest

The case centers on alleged publications and republications in X, which authorities described as “anti-state.” The National Cyber ​​Crime Investigation Agency registered the case in August last year under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca) 2016, alleging that the content was aimed at inciting divisions and negatively portraying state institutions.

Karachi traffic police said in a post on X-day around 5 pm that the flow of vehicles was slow on II Chundrigar Road, Shaheen Complex Chowk, Aiwan-e-Sadr Road, Fawara Chowk, Zainab Market and surrounding areas for “security” reasons.

Lawyer and human rights activist Jibran Nasir accused authorities in an X post of blocking access to the Karachi Press Club in an attempt to suppress protests against the couple’s convictions.

Nasir said all roads leading to the press club had been sealed with containers and parked buses. “The state wants to deny journalists, defenders and civil society the right to protest and expose the false trial and conviction of lawyers Imaan Mazaari and Hadi Ali Chatha,” he said.

Nasir further criticized what he described as increasing state repression, saying such measures would not silence dissent. “No amount of disappearances, arrests and convictions can rid the State of its fear of the truth,” he added.

He also accused the Sindh government and law enforcement agencies of violating fundamental rights. “The PPP government and establishment are once again using and abusing the Sindh Police as a tool to trample on fundamental rights,” Nasir said.

The call for protest comes after lawyers in Islamabad today began a three-day strike following the arrest and sentencing of lawyers Imaan Mazari and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, with boycotts halting court proceedings across the capital.

Islamabad High Court Bar Association Secretary Manzoor Jajja confirmed that the lawyers had been asked not to appear in court. “Today, lawyers went on strike at Islamabad High Court. Lawyers did not appear in court as requested,” he said.

Jajja said lawyers must remain united against what he described as police oppression and announced that they would head to the district courts in a convoy to formally register their protest. Later, a demonstration moved from the deputy commissioner’s office to the adjoining police superintendent’s office, where lawyers chanted anti-police slogans. The lawyers ended their protest upon arriving at the District Judicial Complex.

Also read: Lawyers begin three-day strike over arrest

The Islamabad Bar Association also banned police from entering the court premises. The lawyers evicted the police personnel stationed in the court dining room. Earlier in the day, a separate demonstration was held outside the Eastern Sessions Judge’s court, where additional police were deployed to maintain order.

The strike also came to light during a civil case hearing at the Islamabad High Court. Advocate Qaiser Abbas Gondal, appearing for one of the parties, informed the court that the strike was being observed in response to the arrest of the lawyers. He said the secretary of the bar association was also scheduled to appear in the case, but did not attend due to the strike.