Iman and former MP Ali Wazir were arrested on suspicion of hate speech on August 20, two days after a public rally of the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) in Islamabad. A video circulating on social media showed a speaker criticizing military authorities over enforced disappearances.
They were charged with two separate charges: sedition charges by the counter-terrorism police and “rioting” by the Tarnol police. The next day, August 21, Islamabad’s Air Traffic Control Authority granted police three days of pre-trial detention against them and Wazir in the riot incident.
On August 28, she was released on bail with Wazir in a sedition case, but was re-arrested by Islamabad police within hours in connection with the newly filed terrorism case.
The next day, ATC handed her over to the police for the same incident and held her for three days.
At yesterday’s hearing, Iman’s lawyer, Kaiser Imam, requested her to release on bail and urged the court to hold an early hearing, citing her client’s health concerns.
Justice Abu Al Hasnat Zulqarnain presided over today’s hearing. Iman’s mother, former human rights minister Shireen Mazari, was also present, along with lawyers Zainab Janjua and Imam.
