IBA Calls Emergency Meeting Over Imaan, Hadi Sentences

The Islamabad Bar Association (IBA) has called a general body meeting for April 21 after roughly 400 lawyers signed a resolution demanding urgent hearings on sentence suspension pleas filed by human rights lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband Hadi Ali Chattha. The two were convicted on January 24 and sentenced to a combined 17 years under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 10 years for cyberterrorism under Section 10, five years for glorification of an offence under Section 9, and two years for false information under Section 26-A, by a sessions court in Islamabad. The lawyers' resolution, shared publicly by former human rights minister Shireen Mazari, frames the convictions as a constitutional violation, arguing that treating advocacy and social media posts as evidence of criminal intent contradicts Article 10A's guarantee of fair trial. The resolution specifically contests the legal basis for attributing mens rea to public statements made in a professional capacity. Procedural delays have compounded the detention. The Islamabad High Court dissolved the bench hearing the appeals and referred the file to Chief Justice Sardar Sarfaraz Dogar for a new bench, leaving no effective hearing date assigned since proceedings began February 19. The IBA meeting will consider jail visits, B-class facility access, and formal pressure on bar councils and the IHC to prioritize the suspension pleas.