{
  "id": 16600663,
  "title": "Imaan, Hadi move SC against IHC order refusing to stay trial in security breach case",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/26/imaan-hadi-move-sc-against-ihc-order-refusing-to-stay-trial-in-16600663",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-10-26T12:26:37.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Dawn - Pakistan",
    "slug": "dawn-pakistan",
    "url": "https://www.dawn.com/news/2039962/imaan-hadi-move-sc-against-ihc-order-refusing-to-stay-trial-in-security-breach-case"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Imaan Mazari and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, a human rights lawyer, sought relief from the Supreme Court on Monday, contesting the Islamabad High Court's (IHC) October 19 decision to deny stay on the trial of their alleged involvement in disrupting an international cricket team's security route. The couple, accused of removing barriers from the route, was charged on October 7. The IHC heard appeals against an ATC order of October 10 that dismissed their petitions questioning the framing of charges and the incorporation of terrorism-related provisions. After receiving responses, the IHC delayed its decision on the next steps. The couple, through their lawyer Faisal Siddiqui, filed separate petitions with the Supreme Court, challenging the IHC's October 19 order. They contended that the trial court acted hastily by immediately recording the examination-in-chief of six prosecution witnesses on October 10 and 14, and transferring the trial to jail. This transfer had also been previously challenged before the IHC, as the trial court had appointed state counsel. The petitions alleged that the ongoing trial was a pernicious attempt to undermine the SC’s order suspending their 17-year sentences in a social media case and prevent their release, even though the charges seemed frivolous and baseless. Imaan argued that the IHC had \"erroneously refused to exercise its discretion to grant ad interim relief to stay the criminal trial,\" pointing out that there were multiple factual and legal reasons warranting such relief. The couple believed that the balance of convenience favored them, as a delay in the trial would not harm the prosecution. They claimed that the IHC's refusal to grant ad interim relief violated their rights to a fair trial and due process, and that the trial court had never allowed the petitioners to attend the recordings of evidence.",
  "summary": "ISLAMABAD: Incarcerated human rights lawyer Imaan Mazari and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, on Monday approached the Supreme Court to challenge the Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) Oct 19 order refusing to stay the trial before an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in the security breach case. The case pertains to the alleged disruption of the security route of an international cricket team and incitement to…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}