Attorney Imaan Mazari has filed a letter of complaint about what she called “passivity” on her complaint of harassment in the workplace against Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Sardar Sarfraz Dogar.
In her letter to Justice Inaam Ameen Minhas, the “competent authority” under protection against harassment by women in the Workplace Act, 2010, Mazari said she had not received any update on her case despite the law’s demand that charges were communicated to the defendant “within three days” and a defense filed within seven.
Mazari presented a letter of complaint today (Friday) to competent authority against the accused Chief Justice for Islamabad High Court Sarfaraz Dogar [Source:X]
She described the compensation of Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz, who first became aware of her complaint, as “illegal”, arguing that “the defendant cannot change the competent authority or prevent my complaint by abusing his authority position.”
Mazari also claimed that IHC CJ Dogar participated in “Continued Recruitment Acts” after her complaint.
She quoted the hearing of her client Dr. Mahrang Baloch’s case, in which her power of attorney requested a transfer, but Dogar refused.
“No woman exposed to such treatment must be required to show up for her alleged harassment,” she wrote.
Read: Imaan Mazari, CJ Dogar Exchange Heated Words In IHC
She also noted that her application sought preservation of CCTV recordings from the incident of remained “unanswered”.
Conflict history
The confrontation between Mazari and CJ Dogar began on September 11 during a hearing on Mahrang Baloch’s petition to remove his name from Exit Control List (ECL).
Baloch, head of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), has been detained during the maintenance of public order (MPO) since March after protests in Quetta and was prevented from traveling to participate in time 100 Gala in the United States.
During the hearing, IHC CJ Dogar jumped out at Mazari and said, “You must keep your mouth shut and stay within the limits of respect.”
He accused her of having previously called him a “dictator” and warned of contempt.
He approached her husband, lawyer Hadi Ali Chatta, and said, “Hadi Sajib, explain it to her … If I catch her one day …”
However, Mazari insisted that she acted exclusively in her professional capacity and emphasized that her client’s case should not suffer because of the judge’s complaints.
In the following days, Mazari formally began to document her complaints. On September 13, she moved the IHC registrar to preserve CCTV recordings of courtroom # 1, even with a USB for proof of proof.
On September 14, she repeated her request in writing. On the same day, bar associations condemned nationwide Dogar’s remarks in which the Lahore High Court Bar Association requires him to remove his removal.
Read more: Imaan mazari files harassment -complaint over ihc -highs
Faced with the installation of setbacks, Dogar later claimed that his words had been interpreted and said he considered Mazari “as a daughter” and had only “offered advice as the elders.”
It is important for CJ IHC to understand that I am not an activist Imaan Mazari in his court, I am a lawyer who holds a short to my client and performs myself according to professional etiquette (and a court must do the same).
Dr. Mahrang Baloch’s case shouldn’t suffer because of …
-Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir (@imaanzhazir) September 11, 2025
But Mazari rejected this explanation and on September 15 filed a formal complaint about harassment for IHC Women’s harassment committee, chairman of Justice Imtiaz.
She argued that Dogar’s remarks were gender -determined, threatening and fell within the framework of harassment in the workplace, calling for the case to be referred to the Supreme Court Council (SJC).
The case soon escalated further. On September 17, Attorney Adnan Iqbal filed a reference with Islamabad Bar Council, which sought permanent cancellation of Mazari’s license.
ALSO READ: Reference submitted to cancel Imaan Mazari’s license
He claimed she was involved in activities “considered against the state” and added another layer of pressure on the embattied lawyer.
As the case pulls on, the resistance between Imaan Mazari and Chief Justice Dogar has come to embody a defining test for the function of Pakistan’s legal system.
