On September 8, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) adjourned the hearing of petitions seeking suspension of the sentences awarded to lawyer and rights activist Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, in a social media post case until September 23.

The hearing was adjourned due to the absence of the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) prosecutor.

Justice Muhammad Azam Khan presided over the hearing, while Mazari-Hazir and Chattha were represented by lawyers including Faisal Siddiqui, Riasat Ali Azad and Zainab Janjua.

In January, the couple was arrested and sentenced to 17 years in prison in connection with social media posts, including 10 years for cyber terrorism, five years for glorification of an offence and two years for spreading false and fake information under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA). They challenged their convictions before the IHC in February, and their sentence suspension pleas were admitted in July.

On May 12, the Supreme Court ordered the IHC to decide the sentence suspension pleas within two weeks. Mazari-Hazir has also approached the Supreme Court seeking an expedited hearing of a separate appeal concerning her sentence.