CJ IHC Athar Minallah dismisses army’s case against Imaan Mazari after she regrets remarks

ISLAMABAD, June 20 (SABAH): The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday accepted lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir’s petition to dismiss a case filed against her by the Pakistan Army for allegedly “abusing and defaming the senior command” of the institution after she expressed “regret” over her words.

IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah, who heard the petition, remarked during the hearing that Mazari-Hazir was a respectable officer of the court and should not have uttered the words even under “normal circumstances”.

During the hearing on Monday, Mazari-Hazir’s lawyer, Advocate Zainab Janjua, said her client had appeared for every interrogation on the court’s order.

Two police cars had come to Mazari-Hazir’s house on Sunday night to deliver the notice, she informed the court. “We requested the investigation officer to tell us what the allegations are. Our request was dismissed and we were shown the video [of Mazari-Hazir’s remarks].”

Janjua said she had submitted a detailed reply to police the same day. “We accepted it previously that the video is [original] and we accept it today as well.”

The counsel further said that her client had expressed “regret” over her words and accepted that “what happened should not have happened”.

“If the petitioner asks for forgiveness, what is left in the case?” he questioned.

However, the counsel for the JAG branch argued that the word forgiveness was not mentioned even once in the reply submitted by Mazari-Hazir. “If she has to apologise, she should do so in front of the media,” he added.

Subsequently, the court accepted Mazari-Hazir’s petition and dismissed the case against her.

Human rights activist Imaan Mazari, who is the daughter of PTI leader Dr. Shireen M. Mazari, issued an “unconditional” apology in the Islamabad High Court (IHC), following which a case registered against her regarding derogatory statements about institutions was dismissed.