'Legal and normal': Norway defends envoy's presence at Imaan Mazari's SC hearing

• Cecilie Roang says envoy's actions "in line with int'l law."
• Norway observes court proceedings across world: official.
• "Reporting back home about events core task of diplomacy."
  

Norway's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has defended the presence of its ambassador at a Supreme Court hearing of Imaan Mazari and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, saying that the move was "in line with international law".

"Such lawful presence and observation of a court hearing in the recipient state is within the functions of embassies and is in line with international law,” Norwegian media outlet Dagbladet quoted Cecilie Roang, a senior adviser at Norway’s foreign ministry, as saying.

The statement comes two days after Pakistan's Foreign Office summoned the Norwegian ambassador over his presence at the court hearing in Islamabad, with officials stating the act constituted interference in the country's internal affairs.

FO spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said that the additional Foreign Secretary (Europe) summoned the Norwegian diplomat regarding his attendance at a court proceeding, terming it "a breach of diplomatic protocol and relevant international law".

"Noting that his actions amount to interference in the internal affairs of the country, the Ambassador was urged to adhere to the established norms of diplomatic engagement, as outlined in the relevant articles of the Vienna Convention," Andrabi added.

In a statement issued a day ago, Roang confirmed that the Norwegian ambassador attended and observed a hearing at the Supreme Court, stressing that such actions fall within the routine functions of diplomatic missions and were "both legal and completely normal."

She said Norway, like many other countries, regularly observes court proceedings around the world, particularly in cases of public interest. "Reporting back home about events in the country of service is a core task of diplomacy. Legally attending public court hearings is not an unusual way to gather knowledge," she added.

While the FO raised objections to the Norwegian envoy's presence at the court hearing, Mazari defended his actions as routine occurrence.

Mazari, responding to an X user's post criticising the Norwegian ambassador's presence at the hearing, defended his actions, saying that diplomats "routinely observe" such proceedings.

"[...] diplomats routinely observe court proceedings - that is not equivalent to them taking a position on any case. This is a standard practice," she wrote in her post on X.

Meanwhile, a three-member SC bench accepted Mazari's plea against the Islamabad High Court verdict, which had dismissed the lawyer's plea seeking to stop the trial in the additional sessions judge's court.

The court, in its verdict, said that the trial in the said case should be halted till the decision of the IHC.

Mazari and Chattha were booked in a case registered by the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) under Sections 9, 10, 11 and 26 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca), 2016 and were subsequently indicted on October 30.

The first information report (FIR) alleges that the couple attempted to incite divisions on linguistic grounds through social media posts.