Activist and lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, were arrested on Friday in Islamabad while reportedly heading to the district courts.
Imaan, Hadi finally arrested. This arrest will make this couple more powerful and more respectable. https://t.co/KbglBncdsK
— Hamid Mir حامد میر (@HamidMirPAK) January 23, 2026
Former federal minister and Imaan’s mother, Shireen Mazari, confirmed the arrests through a series of posts on X, stating that police personnel detained the couple, placed them in separate vehicles, and took them to undisclosed locations.
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Mazari alleged that no first information report (FIR) was presented at the time of arrest and claimed that the bar association was unable to intervene. “Fascism at its peak. Emasculated men in power must be so pleased with this achievement!” she wrote.
BREAKING: Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha have been arrested. Police attacked the bar secretary and president who were inside the car with the couple, before dragging the couple out.
pic.twitter.com/EdkdMhs3kz— Bàhot باھوٹ (@bahott_baloch) January 23, 2026
The arrests come as Imaan and Hadi were scheduled to appear before a trial court in a controversial social media case, in which Additional District and Sessions Judge Mohammad Afzal Majoka had issued arrest warrants on January 16.
Prior to their arrest, the couple had reportedly been avoiding detention and had spent two consecutive nights taking refuge at the office of Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA) President Wajid Ali Gilani.
Mazari also shared videos showing police vehicles following the lawyers’ car before officers stopped it and forced the doors open. In subsequent posts, she claimed police used force against bar leaders, broke vehicle windows, and assaulted both Imaan and Hadi.
Calling the move “illegal and unconstitutional,” IHCBA President Wajid Ali Gilani said authorities had assured him a day earlier that the couple would not be arrested and would be given safe passage to the district courts.
In a video statement, Gilani said he had raised concerns with Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfaraz Dogar about the possibility of arrests, but the chief justice did not hold court on the matter.
According to Gilani, police attacked the lawyers’ convoy near Serena Chowk, damaged vehicles, and forcibly removed Imaan and Hadi. He alleged that male police personnel physically dragged Imaan into a police vehicle and that IHCBA Secretary Manzoor Jajja was pushed to the ground and beaten.
Gilani urged lawyers from the Islamabad High Court and district courts to gather at Sitara Market Women’s Police Station, where he said Imaan was being held, and announced a strike in protest. Warning of escalating resistance, he said the 2007 lawyers’ movement could be revived if the oppression continued.
Terming the incident a “major blow to the rule of law,” Gilani stressed that lawyers were guardians of the country’s legal and constitutional integrity.
The IHCBA, Islamabad Bar Association (IBA), and Islamabad Bar Council (IBC) issued separate statements condemning the arrests. The IHCBA and IBA announced a strike for Friday, while the IBC called for a strike on Saturday.
In its statement, the IBA described the arrests as an “illegal and unconstitutional move” and demanded the immediate release of the detained lawyers, asserting that every citizen has the right to defend themselves in court.
The IBC also denounced what it described as “reprehensible conduct, including misbehaviour, assault, and torture” by police officials, calling it a blatant misuse of authority intended to intimidate the legal community. The council demanded the couple’s unconditional release, an independent inquiry, and strict disciplinary action against those responsible.
The primary case against Imaan and Hadi relates to a controversial social media post and originated from a complaint filed on August 12, 2025, with the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) in Islamabad. The couple were indicted on October 30 last year.
After repeated non-appearances, their interim bail was cancelled, and arrest warrants were issued on January 16. The couple subsequently challenged the warrants before the Islamabad High Court.
The NCCIA complaint accused Imaan of spreading content allegedly aligned with proscribed organisations, while Hadi was implicated for reposting some of the material. The FIR claimed the posts held security forces responsible for enforced disappearances in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan and portrayed the military as ineffective against militant groups such as the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Earlier this week, the IHC granted the couple pre-arrest bail in a separate case linked to a July 2025 protest organised by the Baloch Yakjehti Committee.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, an anti-terrorism court dismissed their pre-arrest bail applications in another case related to a scuffle outside the Islamabad High Court in September 2025.
