IHC adjourns hearing on lawyers' sentence suspension pleas despite SC deadline

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday postponed the hearing for sentence suspension petitions filed by human rights lawyers Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and Hadi Ali Chattha. This delay means the Supreme Court's directive to decide these pleas by May 26 remains unfulfilled. The Supreme Court had issued this order on May 12, over three months after the couple was sentenced in the controversial social media posts case.

IHC's Justice Muhammad Azam Khan was set to hear the petitions today. However, the hearing was adjourned because two of the three members of the special prosecution team were absent. The prosecutor present informed the court that one team member was traveling from Lahore, while another was occupied with proceedings before the IHC chief justice.

Justice Khan noted his specific presence for this hearing, even though he was nominated for mediation training. He questioned the prosecution about their awareness of the Supreme Court's directives. Advocate Riasat Ali Azad, a counsel for the petitioners, pointed out that the Supreme Court's deadline had already passed. Justice Khan acknowledged that the petitions were filed following the Supreme Court's order, which mandated the IHC to decide the sentence suspension applications within two weeks from May 12.

Another petitioner's counsel, Faisal Siddiqui, argued that a prosecutor should appear after concluding commitments in the IHC chief justice's court. Justice Khan mentioned he had already heard cases in the morning and missed his mediation training session to attend this hearing. The prosecutor requested an adjournment until Thursday or the following Monday. After consulting with the petitioners' counsels, Justice Khan scheduled the next hearing for Thursday, June 4.

Siddiqui urged the court to restrain the prosecution from seeking further adjournments. Justice Khan responded that repeated reminders were unnecessary, as all parties are obligated to comply with the Supreme Court's order. Imaan and Hadi have been incarcerated since their January arrest in a case registered for protesting outside the IHC and allegedly manhandling the IHC Bar Association president. Their arrest drew criticism from rights bodies, politicians, and journalists, who emphasized the couple's right to a fair trial. A sessions court sentenced them to 17 years in prison in the social media posts case just one day after their arrest.