Human rights activist Imaan Mazari and her husband, advocate Hadi Ali Chattha, have faced a fresh legal obstacle after the Supreme Court Registrar Office raised objections to their plea seeking suspension of their sentence.
The petition linked to the case concerning alleged anti-state social media posts was returned with procedural objections by the registrar’s office on Monday.
The couple had filed the application through their counsel, Faisal Siddiqi, challenging the decision issued by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on 19 February.
Sources said the SC Registrar Office listed four objections to the petition, including that the power of attorney had not been completed correctly, while the lawyer had also failed to provide proper personal details.
In addition, the SC registrar office also said the required certificate had not been submitted in the correct form.
Sources further said that Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha are expected to file a chamber appeal shortly against the objections raised by the registrar’s office.
It is pertinent to mention here that just two weeks ago, on April 15, over 400 lawyers, belonging to the Islamabad Bar Council, Islamabad High Court Bar Association and Islamabad District Bar Association, submitted a joint resolution in the Islamabad Bar to show support for human rights lawyer Imaan Mazari and her husband Hadi Ali Chattha, presently serving prison terms.
Four important demands were put forward in the resolution submitted by lawyers, including a former president of the High Court Bar Riyasat Azad, Attaullah Kundi, Babar Mumtaz, Haider Syed, Zainab Janjua, Aimal Khan Mandokhel and others.
The lawyers demanded that petitions filed by the couple, seeking suspension in their sentences, be fixed for hearing at the earliest.
Their second demand was that a delegation of lawyers, including females, be allowed to visit the jail so that they could inspect the facilities provided to them there.
Their third demand was that since both husband and wife were highly educated, they be provided B-Class in jail.
The lawyers said that since a jail trial was against the principles of justice, therefore, the couple should be produced in court for the hearing of their cases.
It was further stated in the resolution that cases were registered against Imaan and Hadi with a mala fide intention and were a negation of principles of justice. “Both lawyers have been raising their voice for the rights of weaker and marginalised segments of the society, and talking about human rights and attainment of justice for such people is by no means a crime,” read the resolution.
The lawyers said the purpose of submitting a resolution was to make Imaan and Hadi feel that they were not alone and that the legal fraternity was with them.
