Human rights lawyer Imaan Mazari and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, approached the Supreme Court of Pakistan on Monday, 26 October 2026, seeking a stay of their trial before an anti-terrorism court. The couple are challenging the Islamabad High Court's refusal to grant interim relief, arguing that without a stay their pending application before the High Court would lose its practical effect.

The case at issue

The underlying case concerns the alleged removal of security barriers from the route of a foreign cricket team and alleged incitement to public unrest. The couple were indicted on 7 October. On 19 October, the High Court declined their request for an interim order in petitions seeking removal of anti-terrorism provisions from the case, but issued notices on a separate plea seeking suspension of the trial proceedings. In their Supreme Court petitions, filed through senior counsel Faisal Siddiqui, the couple say the trial court moved with unusual speed, hearing prosecution witnesses on 10 and 14 October and agreeing to move the trial to jail.

Why they say a stay matters

The petitioners argue that removing barriers does not amount to terrorism, and that the proceedings are aimed at keeping them in custody rather than testing a properly founded charge. They also say evidence was recorded in their absence, that their walkout from court was a protest rather than a surrender of the right to be present, and that a state counsel was appointed after their own counsel sought an adjournment. A separate High Court bench also heard their objection to the in-jail trial and to the appointment of state counsel. The sources report the filing of the petitions, not a Supreme Court decision, so this story should not be framed as a ruling in their favour.

Source: IANS