ISLAMABAD: Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majuka’s court Saturday sentenced lawyers Imaan Mazari and her husband Hadi Ali Chatha to a total of 17 years in prison each and a fine of Rs36 million under various sections of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca) in the controversial tweets case.
The judge issued a 22-page detailed judgment while pronouncing the sentence. The judge said that Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chatha were produced from Adiala jail via video-link, but they boycotted the court proceedings, and, therefore, they were sentenced to imprisonment and a fine.
In the written verdict, the court said that Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali have been sentenced to five-year imprisonment and a fine of Rs5 million under Section 9 of the Peca, 10-year imprisonment and a fine of Rs30 million under Section 10, and two-year imprisonment and a fine of Rs1 million under Section 26-A.
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) had ordered for cross-examination of witnesses by Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chatha till Saturday. They were presented before the court through video-link due to their judicial remand in other cases.
Barrister Fahad, Usman Rana Advocate, Barrister Mansoor Azam appeared in the court on behalf of the prosecution, while State Counsel Taimur Janjua appeared in the court on behalf of Imaan Mazari and Hadi Chatha. The prosecution presented a total of five witnesses in the case and presented a challan consisting of more than 30 pages in the court.
The judgment noted, “During the course of inquiry, it came to light that accused persons are involved in the propagation and dissemination of narratives aligned with the proscribed individuals/organisations. The content, including tweets, re-tweets, shared and uploaded by the accused persons, expressed solidarity and support for the proscribed organisations (BLA, TTP and Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement) and proscribed individuals (Mahrang Baloch, Ali Wazir and Manzoor Pashteen).” The accused also indulged in spreading material against state institutions. The prosecution also provided various tweets of Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chatha as evidence in the challan. The prosecution also presented Imaan Mazari’s anti-state speech in the court. The lawyer couple were already on judicial remand at Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail after they were arrested in Islamabad in connection with a separate case on Friday. The failure to pay the fine will result in further six-month jail terms for both convicts. The sentences will run concurrently. The order noted that the convicts were “present in custody in some other case through video link,” adding that they be kept in jail to undergo their sentences.
The court gave both the benefit of Section 382-B of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) which allows the period of detention to be considered as part of the sentence.
The order observed that Imaan’s tweets made between 2021 and 2025 “portrayed the agenda” of the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
The judge stressed that glorification has been defined in Peca as including “any form of praise or celebration” of proscribed organisations or individuals or groups. “The said tweets of the accused persons damaged public trust in state institutions, especially law-enforcement agencies and the armed forces, and blamed the state for terrorism and enforced disappearances,” the order stated.
Regarding the charge for spreading false information, the order noted: “There was no proof with the accused that the state has forcibly disappeared any person but despite that, in number of tweets they claimed that the state is responsible for it.”
Imaan and Hadi’s arrest on Friday prompted criticism by rights bodies, politicians, and journalists, who stressed the couple’s right to a fair trial.
Amnesty International noted the “lack of adherence to due process” and said these were “retaliatory cases aimed solely at silencing Imaan and Hadi for their human rights work and dissent”. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) also condemned the arrest, terming the case a “tool to harass, intimidate and ultimately muzzle dissent”.
Imaan’s mother Shireen Mazari, a former human rights minister, reacted to the sentences by terming it “totally illegal”. “Their [transfer application] is still pending in [Islamabad High Court] so legally judge cannot pass judgment till [transfer application] is heard,” Mazari contended.
In another post, she said: “They got their pound of flesh [through] an order passed illegally but the emasculated men don’t give a damn. It was always about ‘off with their heads’.”
On the other hand, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar hailed the verdict, quipping on X: “As you sow, so shall you reap! “The first official and final result of PECA. One should fear God,” he added.
The case pertaining to controversial social media posts stems from a complaint filed on Aug 12, 2025 at the NCCIA in Islamabad. The complaint accused Mazari of disseminating and “propagating narratives that align with hostile terrorist groups and proscribed organisations”, while her husband was implicated for reposting some of her posts.
Separately, the Tehreek Tahaffuz Aiyeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP) Saturday strongly condemned the sentences handed down to Imaan Mazari and her spouse, Hadi Ali Chatha.
