&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Pakistan minister's daughter, son-in-law sentenced to 17 yrs for calling nation a ‘terrorist state’")
A Pakistani lawyer's daughter and son-in-law of former minister of the country, Shireen Mazari, were sentenced to 17 years in prison for calling Pakistan a ‘terrorist state’ and coming up with ‘anti-military’ remarks on her social media post. The charges were filed by the court under the contentious Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA).
According to a report in the Dawn, the additional district and sessions court on Saturday found human rights lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband Hadi Ali Chattha guilty of cyberterrorism, glorification of terrorism, and the dissemination of false information in Islamabad.
Mazari, a human rights lawyer, has defended victims of rights abuses and has been a vocal opponent of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances. Her mother previously served as Pakistan’s federal minister for human rights under the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.
Mazari's husband, Ali, who is also a criminal lawyer, represents individuals accused in blasphemy cases and has also worked with the Asma Jahangir Legal Cell, advocating for survivors of sexual assault, rape and enforced disappearances.
Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA)
Pakistani journalists, digital rights activists and civil society groups have long opposed the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA). Though enacted in 2016 to address cybercrime, the law has increasingly been used by the state to curb free expression, particularly after amendments passed in January 2025 expanded the government’s authority to regulate social media.
Trending Stories
)
Lift accident? Maintenance, builders & makers are ALL liable now, rules Supreme Court: 3 major regulations | WION Decodes
)
The Royals enter the Doctor Who universe: King Charles and Queen Camilla beam into Commonwealth Games in TARDIS
)
Delhi Consumer Court fines Indian Railways Rs 25,000 for making RAC passengers share one blanket
)
India avoids higher US tariff, secures lower 10% rate. Here's how
)
Russia-Ukraine war: Putin mobilises more troops for Ukraine's war decisive invasion
)
Iran claims attack on US military bases in Jordan, Kuwait, alleges F-35s destroyed
)
'We have special forces': Netanyahu warns against any ICC arrest attempt abroad
)
'There needs to be a declaration of war': Trump wins Senate vote, but Cassidy draws red line on Iran
)
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke returns to Maharashtra, receives grand welcome in hometown
)
Brewery offering 'free beer' the day Trump dies has license revoked - 'Will have to pry me out of my taprooms'
)
China builds 500+ spy satellites as US space lead shrinks | Gravitas
)
3.6mn people track 24hr Qantas flight from Melbourne to Toulouse: Pilot shifts, fuel tank and other details
)
Spider-Man: Brand New Day X review: Tom Holland starrer wins hearts; netizens call it 'ABSOLUTE GOLD'
)
ED raids uncover ₹600 crore assets in Jharkhand illegal coal mining crackdown
)
British Airways flight comes close to 'nosediving' over London
)
NEET Protests riddled with misinformation? Delhi Police blocks 480 Pakistan-based handles spreading 'fake news' since Operation Sindoor
)
Hosts India sweep Malaysia for double gold in men’s and women’s Commonwealth Table Tennis finals
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
Why are iPhones so expensive compared to Android phones?
)
Sonu Sood defends Gen Z after Kangana Ranaut's 'Generation Gutter' remark: 'It is very shameful'
)
Saudi leads 43 nations for new Red Sea naval coalition amid Houthi blockade
)
Trump says Iranian school bombing photos could be AI-generated - 'I don’t think...'
)
Kiara Advani reveals why she chose Toxic, says character offered her 'all the meat an actor longs for'
)
Giant iceberg flips violently near Greenland exposing its underside - 'I didn't know they could do that'
)
23ft python swallows man returning from party in Indonesia; family find body whole inside reptile
)
Ex-French pilot who praised Chinese fighters lands in China spy scandal. This is what we know
)
582 tonnes, 150 million°C, 60 years: WION Decodes the mind-boggling numbers behind China's 'Artificial Sun'
)
Bizarre new material discovered in Hiroshima nuclear bombing debris | Gravitas
)
Karan Johar's The Traitors season 2 contestants: Rhea Chakraborty, Mallika Sherawat and Munawar Faruqui in the first batch
)
Indian forces used pellet guns on Jul 20? SC hearing, police diary entry, MLC report and injured protesters' claims
)
Amnesty International says India's arms exports to Israel risk complicity in Gaza genocide
)
PM Modi backs anti-paper leak law, vows crackdown on exam mafias
)
Student denied admission to IIT Kanpur's cybersecurity program hacks websites to prove a point
)
This Ramayana actor took ZERO fee from Rs 4000 crore film. Guess who?
)
Nearly Rs 29 crore cash, 15 kg gold found at ex-bus driver's house in West Bengal
The amended law carries penalties of up to three years’ imprisonment and fines of up to PKR 20 lakh for spreading false information. It also bars the sharing of statements from banned organisations or their members and widens the definition of social media platforms to include all online information management systems.
“This judgment is a blatant assault on the Constitution and a chilling warning to every lawyer, journalist, and citizen who dares to speak. The use of PECA to impose an excessive and punitive sentence for expression is not law enforcement; it is state overreach,” Moniza Kakar, a prominent human rights activist, told ThePrint.
She said the ruling is unlikely to survive an appeal and highlights the pressing need to end the misuse of PECA as an instrument of intimidation rather than justice. “Such disproportionate punishment has no place in a constitutional democracy and reflects a systematic misuse of cybercrime laws to silence dissent. When criticism is criminalised, and free speech is treated as terrorism, the justice system ceases to protect rights and begins to police opinions,” she said.
