Particle.news
Download on the App Store

IHC Restores Bail for Imaan Mazari and Hadi Chattha, Reinstates Defence Rights in PECA Case

The ruling pauses the trial court’s actions to set a fast cross-examination timeline.

Overview

  • Mazari and Chattha appeared before the Islamabad High Court, which suspended the trial judge’s previous rulings and revived their bail.
  • Justice Muhammad Azam Khan reinstated the couple’s right of defence and directed that cross-examination in the trial court be completed within three days, noting a request for more time.
  • The district and sessions court led by Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka had cancelled their bail, issued non-bailable warrants, ordered arrest within 24 hours, and withdrawn cross-examination rights.
  • A day earlier, the high court granted one-day protective bail that barred arrest until Tuesday and required their appearance, after which the trial court ordered them to present themselves within one hour.
  • The case, registered by the NCCIA under PECA 2016 over allegedly divisive posts on X, stems from an August 2025 FIR; the pair were indicted on October 30, and the Supreme Court earlier halted the trial pending high court review.