Riaz Hussain
The rearrest of human rights lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband, lawyer Hadi Ali Chattha, hours after Pakistan’s Supreme Court suspended their 17-year sentences has triggered strong reactions from lawyers, rights activists, politicians and social media users.
The couple was sentenced to a combined 17 years in prison in a controversial case involving social media posts under various provisions of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA).
After the Supreme Court suspended their sentences and ordered their release, Islamabad police arrested the two outside Adiala Jail in connection with another case and produced them before an anti-terrorism court.
The court subsequently sent them to jail on judicial remand.
The fresh case was registered at Kohsar Police Station in Islamabad on March 22, 2025, on the complaint of City Magistrate Ghulam Murtaza Chandio.
According to the FIR, Mazari and Chattha were accused of chanting anti-government slogans and blocking roads.
The couple’s rearrest has drawn criticism from journalists, lawyers, political figures and human rights activists, who questioned the timing of the action following the Supreme Court’s order.
Digital rights activist Usama Khilji also criticised the development, saying it reflected a serious deterioration in the rule of law.
Human rights activist and lawyer Tariq Afghan said the latest development had made the police and the system a subject of ridicule. He alleged that people who speak about human rights, the Constitution, law and peace are being subjected to difficulties.
Afghan also questioned whether the relevant legal procedures were being followed, arguing that the action was contrary to constitutional and legal principles.
Journalist Matiullah Jan questioned why the earlier case had not been investigated alongside the social media case.
He alleged that the couple’s rearrest through the new case amounted to mala fide on the part of the government and raised questions about the functioning of the justice system.
Former senator and human rights activist Mushtaq Ahmad Khan also condemned the arrests.
He said Mazari and Chattha had been rearrested from outside Adiala Jail and sent back to prison in what he described as a “fake” terrorism case.
Khan described the development as a violation of the Supreme Court’s orders, the law and human rights, and said the situation had created an increasingly difficult environment for dissenting voices in Pakistan.
He condemned what he called the government’s “fascist” approach.
The developments have reignited debate over the use of multiple criminal cases against political and rights activists and the relationship between judicial orders and subsequent police action.
