Roads to Karachi Press Club blocked as protests erupt over Imaan, Hadi verdict

All roads leading to the Karachi Press Club (KPC) were blocked on Monday as traffic in the city center came to a standstill following a protest against the verdict of lawyer-activist Imaan Mazari and her husband, lawyer Hadi Ali Chattha, in a case related to controversial social media posts.

Mazari and Chattha were arrested on Friday in Islamabad while they were reportedly on their way to the district courts. An anti-terror court later sent them to 14 days in custody. The next day, a district court convicted the pair in a case related to controversial social media posts and sentenced them to 17 years in prison.

Read more: Lawyers Imaan, Hadi sent in 14 days custody by Islamabad ATC after arrest

The case centers on alleged posts and reposts on X, which the authorities described as “anti-state”. The National Cyber ​​Crime Investigation Agency registered the case last August under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca) 2016, claiming the content was aimed at inciting divisions and portraying government institutions negatively.

Karachi Traffic Police said in a post on X at around 5 pm that vehicular flow was slow on II Chundrigar Road, Shaheen Complex Chowk, Aiwan-e-Sadr Road, Fawara Chowk, Zainab Market and surrounding areas due to “security” reasons.

Human rights activist and lawyer Jibran Nasir, in a post, accused the X of blocking access to the Karachi Press Club in an attempt to suppress protests against the pair’s sentences.

Nasir said all roads leading to the press club had been sealed using containers and parked buses. “The state wants to deny journalists, lawyers and civil society the right to protest and expose the false trial and conviction of lawyers Imaan Mazaari and Hadi Ali Chatha,” he said.

Nasir further criticized what he described as increasing state repression, saying such measures would not quell dissent. “No number of disappearances, arrests and convictions can rid the state of its fear of the truth,” he added.

He also accused the Sindh government and law enforcement agencies of violating fundamental rights. “The Sindh police is again being used and abused as a tool by the PPP government and the establishment to trample on fundamental rights,” Nasir said.

The protest call comes after Islamabad’s lawyers began a three-day strike earlier today following the arrest and sentencing of lawyers Imaan Mazari and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, with boycotts halting court proceedings across the capital.

Islamabad High Court Bar Association secretary Manzoor Jajja confirmed that lawyers had been asked not to appear before the courts. “Today lawyers staged a strike in Islamabad High Court. Lawyers did not appear in court as requested,” he said.

Jajja said lawyers must remain united against what he described as police repression and announced that they would proceed to the district courts in a convoy to formally register their protest. A meeting later moved from the Deputy Commissioner’s office to the adjacent Senior Inspector of Police office where lawyers shouted anti-police slogans. Lawyers ended their protest when they reached the District Judicial Complex.

Read also: Lawyers begin three-day strike after arrest

The Islamabad Bar also banned the police from entering the court premises. Lawyers removed police personnel who had been posted in the court canteen. Earlier in the day, a separate demonstration was held outside the Sessions Judge East court, where additional police were deployed to maintain order.

The strike also came up during a civil case at the Islamabad High Court. Advocate Qaiser Abbas Gondal, appearing for one of the parties, informed the court that the strike was observed in response to the detention of lawyers. He said the bar secretary was also supposed to appear in the case but did not attend because of the strike.