The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) has contested a directive from the Pakistan Supreme Court issued on May 12. The order instructed the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to rule on the plea for sentence suspension by lawyers Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, within two weeks. Despite the May 26 deadline passing, the IHC postponed the hearing at the prosecution’s behest, as reported by Pakistani daily Dawn.
The couple faced sentencing in January in a case related to social media posts, with subsequent appeals against their conviction filed in February. Following over three months of pending pleas, the Supreme Court intervened on May 12, urging the IHC to make a decision within a fortnight on the petitions of Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and Hadi Ali Chattha. Recently, the NCCIA petitioned the Supreme Court to rescind the order, citing the need to uphold judicial sanctity, equality, and non-discrimination.
The NCCIA’s plea highlighted the absence of extraordinary circumstances in the couple’s earlier request for Supreme Court intervention in a matter before the IHC. The couple had previously sought relief from the Supreme Court in December last year after the IHC’s decision did not provide interim respite in the social media post case. The NCCIA now argues that invoking the SC’s jurisdiction under Article 185(3) of the Constitution was based on an IHC order that necessitated consideration of raised contentions.
