Imaan Mazari, husband spend second night at IHC Bar office amid arrest fears

Lawyers decry heavy police presence, demand due process in cases against activist couple

ISLAMABAD:

Rights activist and lawyer Imaan Mazari and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, spent a second consecutive night at the office of Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA) President Wajid Gilani, citing fears of arrest as police maintained a heavy presence around the Islamabad High Court.

The couple had obtained pre-arrest bail on Wednesday in a case dating back to July 2025. However, they did not appear at a separate hearing on Thursday related to a controversial tweet case.

رات 2 بجے۔۔۔ایمان اور ہادی حفیظ میرٹھی کی مشہور غزل زنجیر سنتے ہوئے۔۔۔۔
آباد رہیں گے ویرانے شاداب رہیں گی زنجیریں
جب سب کے لب سل جائیں گے ہاتھوں سے قلم چھن جائیں گے
باطل سے لوہا لینے کا اعلان کریں گی زنجیریں

حفیظ میرٹھی pic.twitter.com/swDEVkvONI

— Sadaqat Saqi (@sadaqatsaqi05) January 21, 2026

Mazari told visitors she was ready to surrender. “We do not want any concession. We are sitting here to surrender,” she said. “We will go ourselves – just tell us how many cases have been registered against us.”

District Bar Islamabad President Naeem Gujar criticised the police deployment around the court, saying police had “cordoned off the High Court from all four sides” and alleged that lawyers were being searched and harassed.

🚨🚨#BREAKING: Senator @kamranmurtaza56, @mustafa_nawazk, #Islamabad high court bar association president Wajid Gillani, Islamabad district bar association president Naeem Gujjar and Islamabad bar council member Zafar Khokhar along @ImaanZHazir and @AdvHadiali doing press… pic.twitter.com/m9hPWp55qM

— Asad Ali Toor (@AsadAToor) January 21, 2026

“The boots of lawyers' vehicles are being checked, and lawyers are being harassed,” Gujar said, appealing to the prime minister, interior minister and army chief. He also demanded that authorities provide a complete list of cases registered against Mazari and Chattha to ensure legal proceedings follow due process.

Read: IHC grants two-day protective bail to Imaan Mazari, husband in newly surfaced case

Chairman of the Islamabad Bar Council Executive Committee Zafar Khokhar echoed similar concerns over the treatment of lawyers. “It feels like there is a law of the jungle here,” he said. “We demand that if the two have committed any crime, they should at least be given the right to a fair trial.”

IHCBA President Wajid Gilani warned that the Bar would take action if the concerns were not addressed. “When someone files a bail application, no one has the right to harass them,” he said, stressing the need to respect legal rights.

Mazari and Chattha first sought refuge at the Bar president’s office on Tuesday night after arrest warrants were issued in connection with a newly surfaced FIR at Kohsar Police Station, Islamabad, dated July 26, 2025.

Read more: IHC restores bail, reinstates right of defence of Imaan Mazari, husband

The FIR was filed following a protest by the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) and surfaced shortly after the Islamabad High Court reinstated their bail in a separate case under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016.

Fearing arrest, the couple stayed overnight at the Bar office, with Gilani assuring them, “Sit in my office. No one will arrest you from here.”

The situation has drawn criticism from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), which described the FIR as “fabricated” and expressed concern over what it called continued harassment of the couple.