Islamabad High Court dismisses army's case against daughter of Shireen Mazari

Jun 20, 2022

Islamabad [Pakistan], June 20 : The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday dismissed a case filed by the Pakistan Army against Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir, daughter of former Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari, who was accused of "abusing and defaming" Pakistan Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa.
Earlier, a case was filed by the Pakistani Army against Mazari-Hazir on May 26 at Islamabad's Ramna police station. The FIR stated that a "derogatory and hateful" statement was made by Mazari-Hazir against Pakistan Army Gen Bajwa, reported Dawn.
The daughter of Pakistan's former human rights minister Shireen Mazari was booked under sections 505 (inciting people against armed forces) and 138 (abetment of act of insubordination by soldier) of the Pakistan Penal Code.
This development comes after Mazari-Hazir accused General Bajwa and the army of being behind the detention of her mother in a land dispute case. A video of Mazari-Hazir, a lawyer, was shared across social networking channels where she was seen making statements about Gen Bajwa.
According to Dawn, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday accepted 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.
Her lawyer challenged the FIR and said that her client was being made a "victim of ulterior motives and highhandedness of the complainant and others, who are highly influential". "The FIR is ill-founded and allegations are absurd," the petition said.
The lawyer said her client had appeared for every interrogation on the court's order and two police cars had come to her client's house on Sunday night to deliver the notice. "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]," the lawyer said.