Activist and lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, were arrested on Friday in Islamabad, former minister Shireen Mazari said.
Mazari said on X that Imaan and Hadi “have been arrested and put in separate cars and taken away to unknown locations”.
The former lawmaker claimed that no first information report (FIR) was shown by the police and a lawyers’ bar association “sadly could do nothing”.
“Fascism at its peak. Emasculated men in power must be so pleased with this achievement!” Mazari added.
Imaan and Hadi were due to appear before a trial court in the controversial tweets case today after their non-appearance a day ago despite repeated calls.
The court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Mohammad Afzal Majoka had issued arrest warrants for the couple on January 16.
In a separate post, Mazari claimed the police “used violence on the bar leaders, [including] breaking the windows of the car, etc”.
“All [because] the Twitter case had been exposed and more embarrassment would have followed in further [cross-examination] today,” the former minister said, referring to the case against Imaan and Hadi over controversial social media posts.
She added that it seemed the technical officer being cross-examined has “suddenly resigned from his job”.
“Seems they (police) used violence on Imaan and Hadi also,” Mazari alleged in another post.
The ex-minister shared a video message of Islamabad High Court Bar Association President Wajid Ali Gilani, who was with Imaan at the time of the arrest.
Gilani said: “We spoke to the authorities yesterday and other institutions, and they made a commitment that Imaan Mazari and Hadi Chattha will not be arrested and will be given safe passage to go to the district court.”
He detailed that fearing arrest, the lawyer couple went to IHC Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfaraz Dogar and “informed him that there is a possibility that we will be stopped; however, the chief justice did not hold court today”.
Gilani said Imaan and Hadi, along with their lawyers, were on their way to the sessions court when their vehicles came “under attack by the police”.
He claimed that the police subjected the lawyers to violence, and broke the vehicles’ windows, forcing Imaan and Hadi out of the car.
He called on the lawyers of both the IHC and the sessions court to come to the Sitara Market women’s police station — where he said Mazari was being held — and observe a strike.
More to follow
