The Supreme Court on Thursday suspended the 17-year prison sentences of lawyers Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and Hadi Ali Chattha in the controversial social media posts case and ordered their release on bail pending a final decision by the Islamabad High Court (IHC).
A two-member bench comprising Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim heard the couple’s appeals. An Islamabad sessions court had sentenced each of them to a total of 17 years in prison in January on multiple charges under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca).
During Thursday’s proceedings, Justice Afghan said the court was mindful of the couple’s status as members of the legal profession.
“Both are lawyers; we are respecting their dignity. Tell them too to observe the decorum of the court,” he said.
Additional Attorney General Rana Asad opposed the relief, arguing that the IHC had not yet ruled against the prosecution and that the high court was the appropriate forum to consider suspension of the sentences.
The bench, however, questioned why the matter had repeatedly been delayed despite an earlier Supreme Court direction that the IHC decide the applications within two weeks.
Justice Afghan was particularly critical of the sequence of adjournments, remarking: “The IHC is, in its own way, preventing the SC from functioning.”
Counsel Faisal Siddiqui informed the bench that the Supreme Court had issued its initial direction on May 12, after which the case was repeatedly adjourned before the IHC. He said even a request for an early hearing had been rejected by the high court registrar’s office.
“What happened at the High Court came as a surprise to us,” Siddiqui said.
“These are the days of surprises,” Justice Afghan responded.
The IHC had most recently scheduled the sentence-suspension applications for September 8, but adjourned proceedings until September 23 without hearing the matter.
Mazari and Chattha were convicted over social media posts that prosecutors alleged promoted an anti-state narrative. They have challenged their convictions and sentences, while their substantive appeals remain pending before the IHC.
Thursday’s Supreme Court order suspends their sentences and allows their release on bail while those proceedings continue; it does not overturn their convictions.