ISLAMABAD: A district and sessions court in Islamabad on Thursday withdrew the non-bailable arrest warrants issued against lawyer and activist Imaan Mazari and her husband, advocate Hadi Ali Chattha, in a controversial tweet case.
The warrants had been issued a day earlier after the couple failed to appear in court for a hearing. However, the judge canceled them after Mazari and Chattha appeared for Thursday’s session.
Advocate Samiullah Wazir represented Chattha, while Mazari requested time to appoint her lawyer. The court directed Mazari to submit her lawyer’s power of attorney by Saturday.
During the hearing, Mazari claimed that the speed at which the case was proceeding was violating their rights. “We are being punished for speaking the truth; the court should read out the charges,” she said. The judge, however, stated that the charges had already been read three times in the presence of the lawyers.
Chattha also requested the removal of the state counsel, citing his own lawyer’s readiness to represent him. The judge clarified that the appointed committee, not him, could remove the state counsel, and asked Chattha to present arguments on Saturday when a decision will be made.
The hearing was adjourned until November 8. The FIR against the couple was filed by the National Cybercrime Investigation Agency, accusing them of inciting linguistic divisions on social media, under Sections 9, 10, 11, and 26 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), 2016.
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