Overview
- An Islamabad sessions court found the lawyers guilty under PECA Sections 9, 10 and 26-A, imposing concurrent terms of five, ten and two years plus substantial fines for each.
- The case stems from 2021–2025 posts the court said echoed proscribed groups’ narratives and labeled Pakistan a “terrorist state,” which the judgment held fell under cyberterrorism.
- The pair were arrested on January 23 in Islamabad while heading to court and remained in custody as proceedings continued, including a video-link hearing before the verdict.
- Civil society protests clogged roads around the Karachi Press Club as police set up barriers, and Islamabad’s bar associations began a three-day strike that disrupted court work.
- Government figures defended the process, with Rana Sanaullah rejecting unfair-trial claims and Information Minister Attaullah Tarar hailing the decision, while Amnesty, HRCP and international legal groups condemned the case and signaled challenges.