Imaan Mazari, husband Hadi Ali Chattha arrested in Islamabad

• Couple arrested from IHC Bar's van on their way to district court.
• Police confiscate phones of both Imaan Mazari and Chattha.
• IHC Bar gives strike call to protest "illegal" arrest.

ISLAMABAD: Lawyer and rights activist Imaan Mazari and husband, Advocate Hadi Ali Chattha, were arrested by police on Friday, reportedly in a case related to an altercation case outside the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

The couple was arrested from IHC Bar's van on their way to the district and sessions court in Islamabad from the bar's office.

The police confiscated the phones of both Mazari and Chattha, and shifted them to womens police station. Sources said that they have been arrested in the case related to an altercation case outside the the IHC.

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in the federal capital had dismissed the bail applications of Mazari and Chattha in this case on Thursday due to their absence in the hearing.

The case was registered on the complaint of IHC Bar President, Wajid Ali Gilani, over a heated exchange of words during a protest outside the bar office. Both had filed pre-arrest bail applications in this matter.

Reacting to the development, IHC Bar gave a strike call to protest Mazari and Chattha's "illegal" arrest.

Moreover, the two had also been summoned by Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka in the controversial tweets case today. The local court judge had directed Mazari and Chattha to appear at 8:30am today upon their repeated absence in the past few hearings.

The two are 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. 

Additional Judge Majoka had issued arrest warrants for the couple earlier this month over their continued non-appearance. However, their bail was restored by the IHC earlier this week.

IHC's Justice Muhammad Azam Khan also restored their right of defence and suspended the order given by Majoka, citing the accused's failure to appear before the court.

Last month, Mazari and Chattha filed an application in the Islamabad High Court (IHC), expressing distrust in Judge Majoka and seeking the transfer of the controversial tweets case to another court.

This is a developing story and is being updated with more details.