Imaan Mazari, Hadi Ali Chattha indicted in controversial tweet case

Islamabad: A sessions court in Islamabad on Thursday indicted lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari and her husband, Advocate Hadi Ali Chattha, in a case related to a controversial post shared on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter).

Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka conducted the hearing, during which both Mazari and Chattha appeared in court.

The judge formally framed charges against the couple. However, both pleaded not guilty and opted to contest the case.

The court directed all prosecution witnesses to appear at the next hearing and instructed Chattha to resubmit his bail bonds. The proceedings were adjourned until November 5.

Notably, Chattha was arrested outside the courtroom on Wednesday after the court issued a non-bailable arrest warrant for his failure to appear in a previous hearing. His bail bonds were subsequently cancelled by the court.

The National Cybercrime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) had registered a case against Mazari and Chattha, accusing them of posting content intended to incite divisions on ethnic grounds.

Earlier, in September 2025, Imaan Mazari filed an application in the Islamabad High Court (IHC), requesting the preservation of CCTV footage of the ‘unfortunate incident’ in the courtroom of Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar.

The application, submitted to the Registrar of the IHC, seeks preservation of footage from Courtroom No. 1 on September 11, 2025, between 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM.

Mazari stated that an unfortunate incident allegedly occurred involving her during this time, making it imperative that the exchange recorded on the CCTV footage is preserved.

She further requested the court to provide a copy of the CCTV footage on a USB drive for her legal record.