The Islamabad High Court on Saturday declared maintainable the applications by lawyers Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and Hadi Ali Chattha seeking suspension of their sentences, dismissing a prosecution objection that the pleas had been brought prematurely (The Express Tribune; Pakistan Observer).
Justice Muhammad Azam Khan, hearing the matter as a single bench, had reserved the order on Friday after the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency argued that the maintainability question should be settled before the court considered the applications on their merits (The Express Tribune; Dawn).
The prosecution’s position was that the petitions had been filed before the point at which such relief could competently be sought. Counsel for the two petitioners contested that reading. With the miscellaneous application now dismissed, the court has cleared the way to take up the suspension pleas themselves, and the hearing on the merits was adjourned (The Express Tribune).
Mazari-Hazir and Chattha, who are married, were convicted in January 2026 and sentenced to a combined 17 years under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act over posts published on social media (The Express Tribune; Dawn).
Both are practising lawyers, and Mazari-Hazir has appeared in a number of prominent rights cases, which is part of why the prosecution has been followed closely by the legal community and by press-freedom organisations.
Saturday’s ruling settles a procedural question rather than the substance of the case. The convictions stand, and whether either sentence is suspended pending appeal is the matter the court has yet to decide.
