Imaan Mazari granted bail in terror financing case

IHC prohibits Islamabad authorities from further arrests

ISLAMABAD:

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Islamabad granted post-arrest bail to Imaan Mazari on Saturday, while the Islamabad High Court (IHC) simultaneously prohibited local authorities from arresting the human rights lawyer in any new cases. Imaan Mazari was already on bail in a sedition and rioting case.

ATC-1 Judge Abual Hasnat Muhammad Zulqarnain approved Imaan's bail application with a surety bond of Rs10,000. Zainab Janjua and Qaiser Imam represented Imaan in court, and her mother, Shireen Mazari, a former federal minister and PTI leader, was present during the proceedings.

The police had initially arrested the rights activist at her residence on August 20, alleging interference in state affairs during a Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) rally held in the federal capital on August 18. Subsequently, she was charged, along with dozens of others, including former parliamentarian Ali Wazir, under the country’s sedition law for allegedly inciting rebellion in her speech at the rally.

Read ATC sends Imaan Mazari on judicial remand

Imaan was rearrested on August 28 in a terror financing case, mere hours after being granted bail in the sedition case. The ATC, on Friday, ordered authorities to detain Imaan in a women's police station until her bail application hearing and remanded her in judicial custody for 14 days.

Meanwhile, during a hearing, an IHC single-member bench led by Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb addressed concerns raised by Shireen Mazari. She contended that after the possible bail in her daughter's terror financing case, there might be a risk of her arrest in another case.

The court noted that SS Operations had informed them of three cases filed against the lawyer in Islamabad and that Imaan had already been granted bail in two of them.

The judge directed the secretary of interior, the Islamabad Inspector-General (IG), and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) director-general not to arrest Imaan Mazari. Furthermore, they were instructed not to cooperate with the arrest of Imaan by law enforcement from any other province.

The court also ensured that Imaan would not be taken outside the boundaries of Islamabad. The secretary of interior was tasked with gathering detailed information from provinces regarding the cases against Imaan Mazari, with a deadline set for Monday.