Mazari, Chattha secure pre-arrest bail

The District and Sessions Court of Islamabad on Thursday granted pre-arrest bail to lawyers Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chatha in a case pertaining to social media posts.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka approved the bail after hearing detailed arguments from both sides. The petitioners were represented by senior lawyer Riasat Ali Azad and District Bar President Naeem Gujar.

Azad, while reading out the FIR, contended that the sections cited did not apply, adding that the only allegation against Chatha was retweeting one of Mazari's posts. He also highlighted that the FIR was based on a four-year-old incident and that no prior notice had been served to the lawyers. He argued that detention would cause irreparable harm, warranting pre-arrest bail.

District Bar President Gujar maintained that the tweets merely expressed concerns over injustice and did not contain unlawful or contemptuous content. He announced full support for the two lawyers on behalf of the bar.

On the other hand, NCCIA prosecutor opposed the pleas, stating that the tweets in question were from 2025 and had been admitted by both Mazari and Chatha.