Islamabad, December 5, 2025: Lawyer and rights activist Imaan Zainab Mazari and her husband Advocate Hadi Ali Chattha on Friday filed an application in the Islamabad High Court (IHC), expressing distrust in Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka and requesting that their controversial tweets case be transferred to another court.
In their petition, the couple argued that the “transparency requirements” of a fair trial were not being fulfilled, and therefore the matter should be sent to a different court.
The case stems from an FIR registered by the National Cybercrime Investigation Agency, accusing the couple of spreading divisive content on linguistic grounds through social media.
The FIR invokes Sections 9, 10, 11 and 26 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016, offences that pertain to glorification of hate, cyber terror, and incitement.
Earlier in the day, the case was taken up at the Islamabad district and sessions court, where proceedings turned tense.
At one point, Mazari told the court, “Hand me seven years in prison, I am ready for it.” The judge did not respond to her remark.
Chattha, who is co-accused in the case, requested permission to submit the couple’s statements under Section 342 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which allows the court to examine the accused and enables them to present their defence.
He said the court could issue notices to defence witnesses or allow them to record statements virtually, adding that the earlier Section 342 submission came from the state-appointed counsel, not from the accused.
“We have expressed no confidence in state counsel Taimur Janjua,” Chattha said, arguing that their right to defend themselves was being compromised.
The prosecutor countered that the issue of the state counsel was not raised during the previous hearing.
When Chattha pressed that the court should first decide their Section 342 plea, Judge Majoka responded, “I will decide on your petition; you let the prosecution present arguments.”
The state counsel later submitted his final arguments in writing.
Soon after, amid sloganeering by some lawyers inside the courtroom, Judge Majoka walked out, bringing the hearing to an abrupt end.
The court adjourned the matter until Monday, December 8, pending decisions on the defence’s petitions and the IHC’s response to the couple’s request for transfer of the case.
