The court keeps the matter pending before the superior court rules, the couple’s lawyer denounces the inaction in the appeals
Lawyer and human rights activist Imaan Mazari and her husband, defender Hadi Ali Chattha. PHOTO: EXPRESS
ISLAMABAD:
The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday directed the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to decide on the stay of sentence petitions filed by lawyer Imaan Mazari and her husband Hadi Ali Chattha within two weeks, keeping the matter pending before the high court until a decision is reached.
A three-member bench headed by Justice Shahid Waheed heard the case, during which the couple’s lawyer Faisal Siddiqi informed the court that the IHC had only issued notices on the sentence appeals and that no further hearings had been held on the appeals for over two months.
“There is no relief for us in the IHC,” Siddiqi told the court, arguing that the court should make a decision on the plea for suspension of the sentence.
However, Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan noted that no adverse order had also been passed against the petitioners. “There is no order against you from the High Court,” he said, adding that the IHC had not dismissed the plea for suspension of sentence.
Read: SC registrar raises objections to Imaan Mazari’s statement
The judge also questioned the legal parameters for suspending a sentence. “What are the parameters for suspending a sentence? When is a sentence suspended?” Justice Afghan asked, observing that if the high court had rejected the plea, the Supreme Court could have examined the merits of the case.
Siddiqi responded, questioning where the petitioners should turn given the absence of any relief from the IHC. “When the IHC has not granted any aid, where should we go?” said.
Justice Waheed suggested that the court could issue an observation directing that the appeal be decided within two weeks, before the court finally directed the IHC to decide the pleas for suspension of sentence.
Imaan, an activist and rights lawyer, and Chattha, an advocate, received a combined 17-year sentence in January 2026 on multiple charges related to controversial social media posts that prosecutors said amounted to an anti-state narrative under cybercrime laws.
Read more: FO rejects EU criticism over ‘internal matter’ of Imaan and Hadi convictions
Last month, Imaan approached the SC seeking stay of his sentence, moving the high court after the IHC did not include his hearing request. Filed through Siddiqi, the petition claimed that despite his lawyer’s request to stay the trial court’s sentence, the IHC only issued notices regarding the stay application on February 19 and did not stay the petitioner’s sentence.
The petition further contends that the trial court’s order was wholly illegal and clearly malafide as it violated the due process requirements laid down in Articles 10 and 10A of the Constitution of Pakistan, violating the mandatory provisions of Sections 233, 234, 353, 367 and 526 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898.
