An Islamabad anti-terrorism court on Tuesday approved Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha bail in a file that alleges a clash with officers, setting personal surety at Rs5,000 for each defendant.
Court terms and the Kohsar complaint
Bench officer Abul Hasanat Zulqarnain cleared those bond conditions once investigators laid the station papers before him. The matter is booked at Kohsar police station and alleges that the pair hindered public servants who were carrying out assigned work.
The Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha bail step follows closely on heavier punishment in another file: roughly seven days earlier, each drew a 10-year prison term and a Rs100,000 monetary penalty under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA)—the special statute used for grave security offences—of 1997.
Other sentences and how custody began
That parallel Aabpara station prosecution claims they created a safety hazard by meddling in official business while a foreign cricket side was touring in October 2024. Sentencing detail also records two years’ confinement plus a Rs50,000 fine under Section 353, with Section 186 adding a further year and another Rs50,000; the court extended the defendants the benefit available under Section 382. Papers show formal framing of charges on October 7 for the complaint entered on October 25, 2024.
Mazari, who works on rights cases, and Chattha, her spouse and likewise a counsel, have stayed in detention since officers took them into custody on January 23 over a demonstration outside the Islamabad High Court. A sessions court the next day imposed seventeen-year terms on several counts under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca)—the federal cybercrime law—over disputed online posts.
On September 17, after lengthy proceedings, the Supreme Court paused the punishments linked to those posts and permitted release against Rs200,000 surety each until the Islamabad High Court finishes the matter. Capital police detained them again within hours, brought them before an ATC, and cited slogans against the government plus road blockage during a rally.
Timeline: what has happened so far
- October 2024: Allegations around a visiting international cricket team later formed the Aabpara security file.
- 25 October 2024: That complaint was registered; indictment in the same matter is recorded as October 7.
- 23 January: Arrest connected to a protest at the Islamabad High Court; a sessions court the following day imposed seventeen years under Peca.
- 17 September: The Supreme Court suspended the tweet-related sentences and allowed Rs200,000 surety each pending High Court disposal; police rearrested them hours later over slogans and blocked roads.
- Past week / Tuesday: Ten-year ATA terms were recorded, then the Kohsar-related Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha bail was allowed on Rs5,000 sureties.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Islamabad ki ATC ne Imaan Mazari aur un ke shohar Hadi Ali Chattha ko police se takraao wale case mein zamanat de di. Dono ke liye alag alag paanch hazar rupay ki surety rakhi gayi hai. Yeh faisla us ke qareeb aaya hai jab unhein aik alag security case mein das saal qaid aur jurmana diya gaya tha. Is file mein ab wo bond par nikal sakte hain, magar doosre cases ab bhi un ke khilaf chal rahe hain.
