Islamabad Police arrested human rights lawyer Imaan Mazari from his residence in Islamabad on Sunday morning.
Tarnool police officials confirmed that a case was registered against the lawyer for interfering in state affairs, staging a sit-in and resisting.
Imaan’s mother and former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Shireen Mazari also confirmed her daughter’s arrest on X, formerly Twitter.
He said plainclothes policemen, including female officers and paratroopers, broke down Imaan’s front door and took him away.
The former human rights minister described the process as “kidnapping”, explaining that they dragged Imaan out when asked what they had come for. They also took away their security cameras, laptops and cell phones.
“They marched all over the house. My daughter was in night clothes and said let me change but they dragged her away,” the former PTI minister wrote on the microblogging site.
Just now police women, plainclothes people and r ager types took my daughter away after braking down our front door. Taking away our security cameras and her laptop and cell. We asked who they had xome for and they just dragged Imaan out. They marched all over the house. My…
— Shireen Mazari (@ShireenMazari1) August 19, 2023
Mazari added that the officials dragged him away and did not even allow him to change his clothes. He said that all this was done without any warrant or legal procedure.
“State fascism,” she wrote, lamenting the treatment of the mother-of-two duo who live alone at home.
Prior to his arrest, Imaan himself posted an update on X, describing “unknown persons” breaking the house’s cameras, kicking down the gate and jumping out.
Unknown persons breaking down my home cameras banging gate jumped over
— Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir (@ImaanZHazir) August 19, 2023
Meanwhile, former Member of National Assembly from South Waziristan Ali Wazir was also arrested by Islamabad Police.
A case of interference in state affairs was also registered against him, police said.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has condemned Imaan’s arrest and demanded her immediate and unconditional release.
The organization termed the action of the Islamabad Police as “unacceptable”.
HRCP posted, “The way @ICT_Police allegedly stormed into her home without a warrant is unacceptable and a larger, more alarming pattern of state-sanctioned violence against these people. refers to those who exercise their right to freedom of expression and assembly,” HRCP posted X.
HRCP strongly condemns the arrest of lawyer @ImaanZHazir. The manner in which the @ICT_Police broke into her home, allegedly without a warrant, is unacceptable and points to a larger, more worrying pattern…
— Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (@HRCP87) August 20, 2023
