ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) — Activist and lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, were arrested on Friday in Islamabad as they were traveling to the district courts for a scheduled hearing.
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Former federal minister Shireen Mazari, Imaan’s mother, said in posts on X that the couple was stopped by police, placed in separate vehicles and taken to undisclosed locations. She added that no first information report was presented at the time of the arrest.
The couple was due to appear in a trial court in a case related to controversial social media posts. Arrest warrants had been issued earlier this month after their interim bail was canceled following repeated non-appearances.
Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA) President Wajid Ali Gilani said the lawyers were en route to court when their vehicles were intercepted near Serena Chowk. He alleged that police officers forced the couple out of the car and detained them.
Bar bodies, including the IHCBA, Islamabad Bar Association and Islamabad Bar Council, issued statements condemning the arrests. The IHCBA and IBA announced a strike for Friday, while the IBC called for a strike on Saturday.
The associations urged authorities to release the couple and called for an inquiry into the conduct of the police during the incident.
The main case against the pair stems from a complaint filed in August 2025 over social media posts, with additional cases linked to earlier protests and a separate incident outside the Islamabad High Court.
