Police have filed a case under anti-terror laws against lawyer Imaan Mazari, her spouse Zainab Janjua, and several PTI-linked lawyers, including Naeem Panjhuta and Fateullah Barki. The case was registered after the Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA) alleged that the bar leadership was “assaulted” by the lawyers and that the suspects had raised slogans against state institutions.
The charges stemmed from a protest staged by Mazari and the other lawyers on the premises of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to oppose the suspension of Justice Tariq Mahmood Jahangiri from judicial work.
During today’s hearing, Peshawar High Court (PHC) Judge Justice Syed Mohammad Attique Shah granted protective bail to the couple and directed them to appear before a relevant court by October 9.
Mazari and her spouse appeared in court with their lawyers, Ataullah Kundi, Jahanzeb Mehsud, and Tariq Afghan. Additional Attorney General Sanaullah was also present on behalf of the IGCBA.
Advocate Ataullah Kundi informed Justice Shah that “a case was registered against the two petitioners in Islamabad,” to which the judge inquired if both petitioners were lawyers. Kundi confirmed, “Yes, both of them are lawyers and would like to appear in the court.”
Addressing the petitioners, Justice Shah asked if this was their first time in Peshawar. Mazari responded in the affirmative, prompting a lighthearted remark from the judge: “At least you came to Peshawar on the pretext of the FIR.” He added, “You people never come to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa anyway.”
Advocate Kundi argued before Justice Shah that “Imaan Mazari is the voice of the people of KP and Balochistan,” and added that she is also a social worker in Islamabad.
Mazari, who is well known for her vocal criticism of Pakistani authorities, recently also approached inquiry committees of the IHC and the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) to file complaints against IHC Chief Justice Sarfraz Dogar. She announced on X that she had filed a complaint against the judge before the IHC’s workplace harassment committee and a reference for misconduct before the SJC.
This action followed her altercation with Justice Dogar during a hearing earlier this month and his subsequent remarks about the exchange, which she described as “sexist.”
Additionally, she and her husband Hadi also face charges for alleged anti-state activities on social media.
