ISLAMABAD: A district and sessions court on Saturday reissued non-bailable arrest warrants against Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, for their repeated absences from trial proceedings.

In the case registered under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 (Peca), the two have been accused of inciting divisions on linguistic grounds through social media posts and creating the impression that the armed forces were engaged in terrorism within the country.

Court proceedings on Saturday were conducted over three sittings — 9am, noon and 2pm. At each stage, Imaan and Hadi were absent from the proceedings.

In the certified copies of court orders dated January 17, Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka — presiding over the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Court (Islamabad-West) — noted that earlier warrants could not be executed despite repeated attempts by law enforcement and the National Cyber Crimes Investigation Agency (NCCIA).

During the proceedings, officials from the NCCIA submitted reports stating that the non-bailable warrants had returned unexecuted, with NCCIA Assistant Director Imran Haider informing the court that the accused had intentionally concealed themselves to avoid arrest.

At one point during the day, defence counsel Riasat Ali Azad requested an adjournment until Monday, arguing that the accused had challenged the court’s January 15 order cancelling their bail before the Islamabad High Court.

The court subsequently accepted the request but ordered that non-bailable warrants be reissued against the accused.

Judge Majoka further directed the Islamabad deputy inspector general (Operations) and Cyber Crime Reporting Centre In-Charge Muhammad Iqbal to depute senior officers — not below the rank of superintendent of police or deputy director — from the NCCIA to execute the arrest warrants.

The court ordered that once Imaan and Hadi were arrested, they could be produced via video link to join proceedings on Monday.

On Thursday, the same court had cancelled Imaan and Hadi’s bail following repeated absences and heated scenes in the courtroom.

The court had expressed displeasure over the conduct of the accused and the defence, revoked their right to cross-examination, and ordered that their statements under Section 342 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) be recorded.

The prosecution, led by Special Public Prosecutor Rana Usman, had opposed adjournments, while the courtroom proceedings had been disrupted by a heated exchange between the prosecutor and Islamabad District Bar Association President Chaudhry Naeem Gujjar, prompting the judge to briefly rise from the bench.

The case will now be taken up on Monday, subject to the execution of the arrest warrants.

The case stems from a complaint filed on Aug 12, 2025 at the NCCIA, Islamabad.

The complaint accused Mazari of disseminating and “propagating narratives that align with hostile terrorist groups and proscribed organisations”, while her husband was implicated for reposting some of her posts.

The first information report (FIR) of the case alleged that the two held security forces responsible for cases of missing persons in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

It also stated that they had portrayed the armed forces as ineffective against proscribed groups, including the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan.

The accused were indicted in the case in October last year.