ISLAMABAD: A women’s rights activist was granted preemptive bail Friday in a move that protects her from arrest after the army accused her of slandering its chief, a lawyer said.
The order by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) came a day after the legal cell of General Headquarters (GHQ) made an official complaint with the police against Imaan Mazari, daughter of former minister Shireen Mazari, accusing her of using derogatory and hateful remarks against Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa.
The Army became a plaintiff against the immorality of Army Chief General Bajwa, JAG Branch of GHQ has registered an FIR against @ImaanZHazir D/O @ShireenMazari1 in Ramna police station of Islamabad.This is 1st kind of case in the history of Pakistan@ImranRiazKhan @_NadeemZaidi pic.twitter.com/1Dd6eIdmTQ
— Asif (@_masifiqbal_) May 27, 2022
According to her lawyer Zainab Janjua, she is accused of inciting against the armed forces and defaming Bajwa. Under the legal system, a person can seek a court order, or preemptive bail, protecting them from arrest by police.
Mazari’s family was worried after she publicly lashed out at Gen. Bajwa, accusing him of being behind her mother’s arrest last Saturday. Imaan did not offer support for her allegations against Bajwa. The video of her outburst went viral on social media.
Eman Mazari trains her guns towards army chief Gen Bajwa, accusing him arresting her mother, Dr Shirin Mazari, demanding an explanation. pic.twitter.com/leo1ULxQyw
— Syed Talat Hussain (@TalatHussain12) May 21, 2022
Her mother, who served as a human rights minister in the Cabinet of former prime minister Imran Khan, was detained over a land-grabbing allegation from decades ago. She was released hours later, after a court decided she was arrested in violation of a law stipulating that no lawmaker can be detained without permission from the National Assembly speaker.
