Islamabad police 'arrest' Imaan Mazari, husband
by By Ayaz Akbar YousafzaiISLAMABAD: Prominent human rights lawyer Imaan Mazari and her husband were arrested in the federal capital, her mother said on Monday.
Sources, meanwhile, told Geo News that the couple has been arrested in a case registered at Aabpara Police Station concerning interference in government operations.
In a post on X, Shireen Mazari, Imaan's mother and a former federal minister, claimed that "state fascism" was in full swing.
"On Friday at the road barrier @ICT_Police swung the steel barrier delib into her assaulting her as videos show & injured her. Who will hold police accountable 4 terrorism?"
The arrest of Imaan comes days after she and her spouse engaged in a scuffle with traffic police following their attempted to remove the road blockades placed for the visiting England team’s traffic protocol.
Later, the Islamabad Police also confirmed arrest of Imaan and her spouse Hadi Ali, saying they were arrested for creating security risk by interfering in the state affairs during visit of an international cricket team.
The English team was in Pakistan for a three-match Test series and the last match was played in Rawalpindi cricket stadium.
The incident occurred at Islamabad Zero Point Interchange in the morning when the teams were being transported to the stadium.
Imaan's husband thrashed policemen, abused them and threatened them with dire consequences, the sources added.
While Imaan claimed that she was in a hurry as she had to reach court, Islamabad police said that the couple had violated the standard operating procedures (SOPs) of state guests and warned of filing a case.
HRCP condemns arrest
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) condemned the arrest of Imaan and her husband, saying that both lawyers arrested on "ambiguous" charges.
The HRCP said that Imaan and Hadi are well-known human rights defenders, demanding that they should be released immediately and unconditionally.
"All charges against them should be dropped," the commission demanded.