Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir, the human rights lawyer who was recently granted bail in a sedition case, has been re-arrested by Islamabad police shortly after her release from Adiala jail in Rawalpindi on Monday.
Mazari-Hazir’s re-arrest is in connection with a case registered against her under the Anti-Terrorism Act at Bara Kahu police station in the federal capital.
Her legal counsel issued a statement expressing surprise over the police’s failure to inform them about the new case leading to her arrest.
This development follows an Islamabad anti-terrorism court (ATC) granting bail to Mazari-Hazir and Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) leader Ali Wazir on Monday. The bail pertained to a sedition case linked to a controversial speech against state institutions.
ATC Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain approved their post-arrest bail against surety bonds of Rs30,000 each. Both were detained on August 20 after being accused of delivering the contentious speech at a PTM rally.
On August 19, two first information reports (FIR) were lodged against them at the Tarnol police station and Counter-Terrorism Department police station. These reports followed the PTM rally in the federal capital. The charges included sedition, obstructing government officials’ duties, and damaging public property.
The FIRs included charges such as “interference in state affairs,” rioting, unlawful assembly, obstructing public servants, disobedience to official orders, assault on public servants, and more.
