Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir, a renowned human rights lawyer, and former parliamentarian Ali Wazir have been granted post-arrest bail by an Islamabad anti-terrorism court (ATC) related to a sedition charge.
The arrests followed a Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) public meeting in which both Wazir, a PTM representative, and Imaan spoke. Subsequent videos from the event showed attendees questioning the military’s role in enforced disappearances. Wazir’s arrest occurred on August 19 and Imaan’s the day after. Both were named in the first information reports (FIR) from the Tarnol police station and the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) station in Islamabad.
Previously, on August 22, Imaan had received post-arrest bail concerning a separate rioting case but was retained for the sedition charges.
The duo’s judicial remand in Adiala Jail, Rawalpindi, followed the ATC’s rejection on August 24 of a prosecution appeal to extend their physical remand in the sedition case. Concurrently, Imaan’s attorney, Zainab Janjua, submitted a bail request.
During today’s hearing chaired by Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain, excerpts from Imaan’s PTM rally speech were shared. Despite the prosecution’s reservations about granting bail, citing a yet-to-be-received report on a USB owned by Imaan and pending event forensics, the ATC authorized post-arrest bail for both against a surety bond of Rs30,000 each.
As of now, neither has been released. Janjua anticipates Imaan’s release soon, while Wazir is slated for another hearing regarding the rally in a different Islamabad court.
