ISLAMABAD (MNN); Court-appointed defence counsel Advocate Shakeel Jatt on Tuesday declined to cross-examine prosecution witnesses in the case against rights activist and lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband, Advocate Hadi Ali Chattha.
The case pertains to allegedly provocative social media posts investigated by the National Cybercrime Investigation Agency (NCCIA).
Advocate Jatt told Additional District and Sessions Judge Mohammed Afzal Majoka that he had been contacted only a day earlier, around 4pm, to represent the accused and had not received the case file in time to prepare.
He further claimed that he had been handed a list of 15 questions with instructions to ask them during cross-examination, which he refused to do.
According to him, such conditions violated the right to a fair trial. Jatt said the Constitution guaranteed every accused person an impartial hearing, adding that he could not ask questions dictated to him.
The judge accepted the lawyer’s request for more time and adjourned the proceedings until November 27.
Earlier, Mazari had accused the court of forcibly appointing a state defence counsel for her and Chattha. The couple was indicted on October 30.
Chattha had been arrested outside the courtroom a day earlier for alleged non-appearance, despite video evidence presented by Mazari showing he was present inside and outside the court premises.
After his release, Chattha reiterated that he had reached the court five minutes before the scheduled hearing but was still handed an arrest warrant.
The case accuses the couple of attempting to stir ethnic divisions through social media posts and of suggesting that the armed forces were involved in acts of terrorism inside Pakistan – allegations they deny.
