Imaan, Hadi to face jail trial in security breach case

An anti-terrorism court on Thursday addressed a case involving incarcerated rights activist and lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha. The couple, who were indicted on Oct 7, face accusations regarding the removal of barriers and the alleged disruption of a security route for an international cricket team and incitement to public unrest.

According to Dawn, Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra directed counsels and witnesses to appear at Adiala jail for the next hearing after police suggested a jail trial due to limitations in transporting the accused. The Daily Times reports that the judge also sought an explanation from police officials for failing to produce Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha in court.

Dawn reports that the court instructed the Adiala jail superintendent to arrange a meeting between Imaan and her counsel following a defence affidavit regarding previous meeting difficulties. This follows a boycott of proceedings on Wednesday by the defence after the judge proceeded to record prosecution witnesses' statements despite requests to defer the exercise.

Brief written by urgent.news from Daily Times, Dawn, Dawn - Pakistan — 3 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.