Prominent human rights lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband, Advocate Hadi Ali Chattha, were arrested on Friday, following the dismissal of their pre-arrest bail pleas by an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Islamabad.

The couple, who had been seeking refuge at the Islamabad High Court Bar office for the past two days, were reportedly taken away by security officials in separate vehicles to an undisclosed location.

Witnesses claimed that no formal First Information Report (FIR) was presented at the time of the arrest.

The Charges
The arrests are linked to two separate legal battles.

Registered by the National Cybercrime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) under the PECA Act. The couple is accused of inciting linguistic divisions and targeting state institutions via social media.

Citing “non-appearance,” ATC Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra dismissed their bail in a case involving a scuffle with police during a protest outside the Islamabad High Court.

Shireen Mazari Condemns
Former Federal Minister and Imaan’s mother, Dr. Shireen Mazari, took to X (formerly Twitter) to voice her outrage, describing the incident as a peak of political victimization.

“Imaan and Hadi have been arrested and put in separate cars and taken away to unknown locations—no FIR shown and Bar sadly could do nothing. Fascism at its peak. Emasculated men in power must be so pleased with this achievement!” — Shireen Mazari (@ShireenMazari1)

Imaan @ImaanZHazir and Hadi @AdvHadiali have been arrested and put in separate cars and taken away to unknown locations – no fir shown and bar sadly could do nothing. Fascism at its peak. Emasculated men in power must be so pleased with this achievement!

— Shireen Mazari (@ShireenMazari1) January 23, 2026

Earlier, Dr. Mazari had characterized the trial as being conducted by a “kangaroo court” and a “sham trial” where procedural laws were openly violated to satisfy a “vengeful appetite.”