Lawyers representing Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chatha urged the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday to suspend trial proceedings against their clients, alleging that the charges were framed in violation of established legal procedures.
The defence argued that the accused were not physically present when the charges were framed and had not been provided with copies of the relevant case documents.
A division bench comprising Justice Inam Amin Minhas and Justice Sharukh Arjumand heard appeals challenging an anti-terrorism court’s decision to reject applications against the indictment and inclusion of terrorism-related charges.
The case concerns an incident involving the removal of barriers.
During the hearing, defence lawyers, including State Ali Azad and Zainab Janjua, appeared before the bench.
Justice Inam questioned whether the defence had received copies of the necessary documents.
“Copies have not been provided,” Azad responded, adding that he wanted to examine the procedure followed by the trial court while framing the charges.
The lawyer maintained that the anti-terrorism court had issued its order without the necessary jurisdiction.
He informed the bench that the case had remained before ATC Judge Abul Hasanat Muhammad Zulqarnain from March 12, 2025, until shortly before the current proceedings.
Referring to the Zulfikar Ali Bhutto case, Azad argued that proceedings should be conducted by the court before which the police challan had originally been submitted.
He further contended that the accused had not been supplied with the required documents, raising concerns about their ability to prepare an effective defence.
Azad also argued that criminal procedure required charges to be read out to the accused, something he maintained had not occurred because Mazari and Chatha were not physically present in the courtroom at the time of their indictment.
According to the defence, the trial could not lawfully proceed in the absence of the accused during this stage.
The lawyer additionally cited a decision of the National Judicial Policy Making Committee, arguing that framing charges without the physical presence of the accused was contrary to its directions.
The defence requested that the high court intervene and halt the trial proceedings while the legal challenges to the indictment and terrorism charges were considered.
The arguments remain before the Islamabad High Court, and no final ruling on the appeals was reported in the account of Monday’s hearing.