Activist and lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, were arrested on Friday in Islamabad while they were reportedly en route to the district courts.

Former minister and Imaan’s mother, Shireen Mazari, confirmed in a series of posts on X that her daughter had been arrested by police personnel, saying that she and her husband “have been arrested, put in separate cars, and taken away to unknown locations.”

The former lawmaker claimed that no first information report (FIR) was shown by the police and the bar association “sadly could do nothing”.

“Fascism at its peak. Emasculated men in power must be so pleased with this achievement!” Mazari added in a post on X.

Imaan and Hadi were scheduled to appear in a trial court today in the controversial tweets case, in which Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADSJ) Mohammad Afzal Majoka had issued arrest warrants on January 16.

The couple have been evading arrest, taking refuge in the office of Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA) President Wajid Ali Gilani for two consecutive nights.

Mazari also shared videos showing police vehicles trailing the lawyers’ car, with officers stopping the vehicle and opening its doors.

In a separate post, Mazari claimed the police “used violence on the bar leaders, [including] breaking the windows of the car, etc”.

“All [because] the Twitter case had been exposed and more embarrassment would have followed in further [cross-examination] today,” the former minister said, referring to the case against Imaan and Hadi over controversial social media posts.

“Seems they (police) used violence on Imaan and Hadi also,” Mazari alleged in another post.

‘Illegal and unconstitutional move’

The ex-minister shared a video message of Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA) President Wajid Ali Gilani, who was with Imaan at the time of the arrest.

“We spoke to the authorities yesterday and other institutions, and they made a commitment that Imaan Mazari and Hadi Chattha will not be arrested and will be given safe passage to go to the district court,” said the bar president in a video posted on X.

He said that, fearing arrest, the lawyers went to IHC Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfaraz Dogar and “informed him that there was a possibility we would be stopped; however, the chief justice did not hold court today.”

Gilani said Imaan and Hadi, along with their lawyers, were on their way to the sessions court when their vehicles came “under attack by police” as soon as they passed by Serena Chowk.

The IHCBA president claimed that the police subjected the lawyers to violence and broke the vehicles’ windows, forcing Imaan and Hadi out of the car.

He further said that male personnel grabbed Imaan and pushed her into the police vehicle.

Gilani also alleged that the police officials “pushed down [IHCBA] Secretary Manzoor Jajja and beat him”.

He called on the lawyers of both the IHC and the sessions court to reach the Sitara Market Women’s Police Station — where he said Imaan was being held — and observe a strike.

“The authorities should stop this oppression. If they do not, then the 2007 lawyers’ movement will be launched again,” Gilani asserted.

Calling it a “very major incident for Islamabad”, Gilani emphasised that lawyers “guard the country’s integrity and law”.

The IHCBA, the Islamabad Bar Association (IBA) and the Islamabad Bar Council (IBC) issued separate statements condemning the arrest of the lawyer couple.

The IHCBA and IBA announced a strike for Friday, while the IBC called on lawyers to observe a strike on Saturday.

The IBA added that it held an emergency meeting in light of the “illegal and unconstitutional move” to arrest the duo. The body called on authorities to “immediately release” the arrested lawyers.

“The Islamabad Bar Association believes that every Pakistani has the right to defend themselves in the court,” the statement read, terming the arrest a “violation of fundamental human rights guaranteed by the Constitution and law”.

The IBC condemned the “highly reprehensible conduct, including misbehaviour, assault and torture, perpetrated by the police officials” against Gilani and Jajja during the incident.

It considered such actions “to be a blatant misuse of authority, aimed at harassing advocates and creating an atmosphere of fear and coercion within the legal community”.

The IBC demanded Imaan and Hadi’s unconditional release, a transparent and independent inquiry into the conduct of police officials involved, and “strict disciplinary action against all those responsible for the misbehaviour, high-handedness and use of force”.

Cases against the duo

The main case against Imaan and Hadi, which pertains to a controversial social media post, stems from a complaint filed on Aug 12, 2025, at the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) in Islamabad.

They were indicted in the case on October 30 last year.

ADSJ Majoka had issued arrest warrants for the couple on January 16, a day after cancelling their interim bail following repeated non-appearances.

Subsequently, Imaan and Hadi challenged their arrest orders before the IHC.

The NCCIA complaint accused Mazari of disseminating and “propagating narratives that align with hostile terrorist groups and proscribed organisations”, while her husband was implicated for reposting some of her posts.

The FIR of the case alleged that the two held security forces responsible for cases of missing persons in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

It also stated that they had portrayed the armed forces as ineffective against proscribed groups, including the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Earlier this week, a case dating back to July 2025 emerged against the duo, about a protest by the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC). The IHC has granted them pre-arrest bail in the case.

Separately, on Thursday, Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra dismissed Imaan and Hadi’s pre-arrest bail applications in a case over a scuffle outside the IHC in September 2025.