An anti-terrorist court (ATC) granted bail to Imaan Mazari, a human rights attorney, on Saturday in a case filed under terrorism provisions at the Bhara Kahu police station.
ATC approves Imaan Mazari’s bail: The ATC took Imaan into custody on Friday, placing her on a 14-day judicial remand. When pronouncing the verdict, ATC Judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain denied the police’s request for an extension of her remand.
Imaan’s attorney Qaiser Imam submitted a post-arrest bail petition to the court at the hearing on Friday. The court scheduled the hearing for today, September 2, after sending notices to both parties.
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) also prohibited the arrest of Imaan in any upcoming trials on Saturday. Justice Mian Gul Hasan Aurangzeb further directed the interior secretary, the police, and the Federal Investigation Agency not to assist the security forces of any other province in the arrest of Imaan.
On Thursday, the IHC renewed its directives that prohibit the government from relocating Imaan outside of the federal capital.
Judge Aurangzeb heard Shireen Mazari’s plea, in which she, as the mother, requested bail for her daughter and presented the list of charges against her.
Background
On Monday, Imaan was once again detained by Islamabad police, immediately after her release from Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail on terrorism-related allegations. This complaint was filed at Bhara Kahu police station.
The authorities originally detained Imaan and Ali Wazir, the leader of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), on August 20 following their speeches at the PTM protest in Tarnol.
Inspector Mohammad Ashraf’s complaint invoked the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) sections 124A (sedition), 148 (rioting with a deadly weapon), 149 (every member of an unlawful assembly guilty of an offence committed in furtherance of a common object), 153 (riot incitement), 153A (promotion of enmity between groups), and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation).
They also incorporated the Anti-Terrorism Act’s Sections 7 (penalty for terrorist crimes) and 11 (authority to impose forfeiture), along with Section 21i.