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PECA Case # 137935 The State Vs Imaan Zainab Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha

PECA Case # 137935 The State Vs Imaan Zainab Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha

CourtCourt of Muhammad Afzal Majoka, Additional Session Judge / Presiding Officer Prevention of Electronic Crimes Court / Model Criminal Court, Islamabad-West
Judgement Date24 January 2026
CitationPECA Case # 137935

On 24 January 2026, the Sessions Judge of the Islamabad-West Criminal Court sentenced Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha to a combined 17 years’ imprisonment and fines of Rs. 36 million each under sections 9 (glorification of an offence), 10 (cyber terrorism), and 26-A (false and fake information) of Pakistan’s controversial Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016 – a law widely misused to suppress online expression in Pakistan. The prosecution alleged that social media posts published between 2021 and 2025 contained “anti-state” content, incited ethnic hatred, undermined public trust in state institutions, and falsely implicated the armed forces in terrorism and enforced disappearances.

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