ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to decide within two weeks the petitions filed by Imaan Zainab Mazari and her spouse, Hadi Ali Chattha, seeking the suspension of their sentences in the controversial tweet case.
Human rights lawyer Imaan Mazari had filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking the suspension of her 17-year
sentence in a case related to alleged anti-state tweets.
A three-member apex court bench, headed by Justice Shahid Waheed and comprising Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Justice Shafi Siddiqui, heard the case.
The Supreme Court directed the Islamabad
High Court to decide the matter within two weeks and adjourned the hearing on the petition, ruling
that the matter would
remain pending until
the high court’s final decision.
During the hearing, Faisal Siddiqui, representing the petitioners, argued that the high court had so far only issued notices on the appeals against the convictions and had not conducted a further hearing for more than two months.
He contended that no relief was currently being granted by the Islamabad High Court.
Justice Afghan observed that since the high court had not yet rejected the applications for suspension of sentences, the Supreme Court could not directly decide the case on its merits.
However, Justice Shahid Waheed, considering the importance of the matter and the delay, suggested that the court could issue an observation directing the Islamabad High Court to decide the case expeditiously.
Subsequently, the court adjourned the hearing for a date-in-office (indefinite period) after directing the IHC to decide the matter within two weeks.
Meanwhile, following a hearing on Tuesday, a separate Supreme Court bench granted bail to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) social media activist Haider Saeed.
The two-member bench, comprising Justice Shahzad Ahmed Malik and Justice Aqeel Abbasi, ordered the petitioner’s release against surety bonds worth Rs100,000.
The decision comes after the defence highlighted the duration of
the activist’s detention and alleged procedural lapses by the investigating agency.
During the proceedings, defence counsel Ali Bukhari argued that his client had been incarcerated for the past 79 days and claimed that the Federal Investigation Agency had failed to meet necessary legal requirements in the case.
Although Additional Attorney General Munawar Duggal opposed the bail application and requested the court to dismiss the plea, the bench opted to grant relief after hearing arguments from both sides.
