ATC Grants Bail to Iman Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha in Two More Cases

Islamabad: An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Islamabad has granted bail to Iman Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha in two additional cases, though their release remains pending due to non-approval of bail in the controversial tweets case.

The bail was granted by ATC Judge Abual Hasnat Muhammad Zulqarnain against surety bonds of Rs5,000 each in two separate cases. One case pertains to an alleged altercation outside the Islamabad High Court, while the other relates to a protest held outside the National Press Club.

In the case involving an alleged scuffle outside the high court, complainant Wajid Gilani, President of the Islamabad High Court Bar Association, had submitted an affidavit a day earlier.

However, bail in the controversial tweets case has not yet been granted, preventing their release. Applications seeking suspension of their sentences in that case have not yet been fixed for hearing before the Islamabad High Court.

Meanwhile, Justice Muhammad Asif of the Islamabad High Court heard a plea seeking early fixation of the suspension of sentence applications in the controversial tweets case. Several lawyers from the Islamabad Bar, including State Counsel Ali Azad, Zafar Khokhar, and Ashraf Gujjar, appeared before the court.

Ali Azad informed the court that during the previous hearing it was observed that the case would be fixed soon. He requested the court to provide a date before Eid, noting that their counsel, Faisal Siddiqui, would be travelling from Karachi.

Justice Asif remarked that cases are scheduled according to policy and said a date would be provided after ongoing hearings conclude. Azad argued that suspension of sentence petitions do not require a complete record and maintained that the trial court could not alter its judgment in accordance with the law. He urged the court to fix the matter before Eid.

Advocate Zafar Khokhar emphasized that suspension of sentence pleas are typically heard on an urgent basis. Justice Asif observed that the sentence in question was ten years, adding that the matter might have been considered differently had the sentence been less than seven years.

The counsel reiterated that they were not seeking immediate hearing of the appeal but only the fixation of the suspension application. At one point, Khokhar stated that the entire bar stood before the court in support of the request, to which Justice Asif responded, “InshaAllah, we will see.”