The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday issued notices to the state and sought a response to miscellaneous applications seeking an early hearing of the suspension-of-sentence pleas filed by Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha in the controversial tweets case.
Justice Muhammad Azam Khan of the IHC heard the miscellaneous applications. While issuing notices to the state, the court observed that the other side should also be heard.
Counsel for Imaan and Chattha, Faisal Siddiqui, requested that the case be fixed for a hearing on Monday. Justice Khan remarked that Monday was the last working day before Eid and therefore the matter could not be scheduled then.
Siddiqui argued that the case should still be fixed for Monday, adding that if the other side sought an adjournment, they would not object. Justice Khan responded that the case would instead be fixed for the first working day after Eid.
Read: SC directs IHC to decide on Imaan, Hadi’s sentence suspension pleas within two weeks
State counsel Ali Azad submitted that both lawyers were respected members of the bar and requested that the case be scheduled for Monday. Justice Khan said he would review the court’s schedule for that day.
Siddiqui then suggested that the matter could simply be heard on the first working day after Eid. The court subsequently issued notices to the state and adjourned the hearing.
Separately, before the hearing, a representative of the European Union arrived at the high court both yesterday and today to attend the proceedings. Sources said the representative was denied entry into the IHC on both occasions and was turned away from the court gate.
The Supreme Court (SC) on May 12 directed the IHC to decide on sentence suspension pleas within two weeks, while keeping the matter pending before itself until the high court reaches a decision.
On Tuesday’s hearing, the IHC objected to the miscellaneous applications seeking early hearing of the sentence suspension pleas of the couple, stating that the court did not have the SC order before it, and asked the counsel to read the order. The lawyer responded that a copy of the SC order had been attached to the miscellaneous application.
Imaan, a rights activist and lawyer, and Chattha, an advocate, were in January 2026 handed a combined 17-year sentence on multiple charges linked to controversial social media posts that the prosecution argued amounted to an anti-state narrative under cybercrime laws.
Read More: IHC seeks certified SC copy in Imaan case
Last month, Imaan approached the SC seeking suspension of her sentence, moving the apex court after the IHC did not list her application for hearing. Filed through Siddiqi, the petition stated that despite her counsel’s request to suspend the trial court’s judgment, the IHC only issued notices on the suspension application on February 19, and that it did not suspend the petitioner’s sentence.
Further, the petition argues that the trial court’s order was completely illegal and clearly mala fide, as it violated due process requirements under Articles 10 and 10A of the Constitution of Pakistan, breaching mandatory provisions of Sections 233, 234, 353, 367, and 526 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1898.Latest News, Breaking News & Top News Stories | The Express TribuneFiaz MahmoodRead More