An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Islamabad has placed lawyer and human rights activist Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir under three-day police remand.
The decision follows her re-arrest by Islamabad police on terrorism charges just hours after she and former lawmaker Ali Wazir were granted bail in a sedition case stemming from a recent Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) rally in Islamabad.
The case against Imaan was registered on August 26 in response to a complaint filed by Shahzad, a resident of Nai Abadi Bhara Kahu. The complaint implicated Imaan, Wazir, and others in alleged anti-state activities and financial improprieties.
During the court proceedings before Judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain, prosecutor Raja Naveed presented the case against Imaan.
He argued that she had been accused of collecting funds for anti-state activities, urging the court to grant police physical remand to aid their investigation and recover the alleged money involved.
Imaan’s legal representative, Zainab Janjua, countered these claims, noting that the case had been registered while Imaan was in jail on August 26, with her bail petition pending. Janjua also pointed out that the government had issued a no-objection certificate (NOC) for the PTM rally, indicating official permission.
Janjua vehemently asserted that multiple cases should not be registered for the same incident, and emphasized that Imaan was not a PTM member.
She further highlighted that Imaan had cooperated with the investigation, offering her bank statement even though her mobile phone and laptop had already been seized by the police.
The prosecutor argued that obtaining an NOC did not permit the raising of “anti-state” slogans.
He contended that physical remand was necessary to gather evidence.
The court eventually reserved its verdict and subsequently granted police a three-day physical remand of Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir.
