Despite SC deadline, IHC adjourns hearing on Imaan, Hadi's sentence suspension pleas

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday adjourned the hearing of sentence suspension petitions filed by human rights lawyers Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and Hadi Ali Chattha in the controversial social media posts case as the Supreme Court directive to decide the pleas by May 26 remained unfulfilled. The Supreme Court directive was issued on May 12, more than three months after the husband-wife duo were sentenced in the case. They had subsequently filed petitions against their conviction in early February. IHC’s Justice Muhammad Azam Khan took up those pleas today, but the hearing was adjourned due to the absence of two of the three special prosecution team members. The prosecutor who attended the hearing informed the court that one of his team members was travelling from Lahore while another was engaged in proceedings before the IHC chief justice. At that, Justice Khan remarked that he was specifically at the court for the hearing of Imaan’s and Hadi’s pleas despite being nominated for mediation training. Addressing the prosecutor, he asked whether the prosecution was aware of the Supreme Court’s directions in the case. Regarding that, one of the counsels for the petitioners, Advocate Riasat Ali Azad,noted that the deadline set by the Supreme Court had already expired. Justice Khan observed that the petitions had been filed in light of the Supreme Court’s order, which required the IHC to decide the sentence suspension applications within two weeks from May 12. Another counsel for the petitioners, Faisal Siddiqui, argued that one of the prosecutors should appear before the court after completing his commitments in the IHC CJ’s court. Justice Khan noted that he had already heard cases in the morning and had even missed his mediation training session scheduled for 8:30am to attend the proceedings of of Imaan’s and Hadi’s pleas. The prosecutor requested the court to adjourn the hearing till Thursday or next Monday. After consulting the petitioners’ counsels r