In a dramatic turn of events, lawyers Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, were granted relief by the Supreme Court on Thursday but were re-arrested hours later in another case and taken back to jail.

A two-member bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim suspended the couple’s sentences in the controversial social media posts case and ordered their release on bail in the interim of the decision on their appeals before the Islamabad High Court. The court ordered surety bonds of Rs200,000 each.

The relief, however, proved short-lived.

After the release process of the couple started in Adiala Jail, the couple was again arrested by the Islamabad police in another case registered at the Kohsar Police Station. Dawn had reported that the case was related to charges of chanting anti-government slogans and blocking roads.

The couple was then produced before an anti-terrorism court in Islamabad where police requested their physical remand for 30 days. The court rejected the plea and ordered that Imaan and Hadi be sent to judicial custody for 14 days. They are next scheduled to appear before court on October 1.

The development comes in the case of the couple who were sentenced to 17 years in prison each in January in the social media posts case under multiple provisions of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act. The IHC still had their appeals and applications pending before it for suspension of those sentences.

Earlier, the Supreme Court had directed the IHC to decide the applications for suspension of sentence on an expedited basis. The delay was a topic of discussion at Thursday’s hearing.

Imaan’s mother Shireen Mazari took to social media to condemn the re-arrest, saying the couple was taken out of Adiala Jail before their release paperwork was completed. The court record cited in the reports does not independently support that charge.

The latest development leaves the couple facing proceedings in two separate cases, despite the Supreme Court’s suspension of their earlier sentences.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)