By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The foreign ministry summoned Norway’s ambassador on Thursday and accused him of breaching diplomatic protocol by attending a Supreme Court hearing involving a prominent human rights activist and her husband, who face charges over controversial social media posts.
The ministry said Ambassador Per Albert Ilsaas was informed that his presence at the hearing amounted to interference in Pakistan’s internal affairs and violated international law. “Noting that his actions amount to interference in the internal affairs of the country, the Ambassador was urged to adhere to the established norms of diplomatic engagement, as outlined in the relevant articles of the Vienna Convention,” the ministry said in a statement.
Ilsaas was summoned by the additional foreign secretary for Europe after attending the hearing for activist Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha.
The diplomat’s attendance sparked debate on social media, with Mazari-Hazir defending it in a post responding to a journalist who called it a breach of norms. “Who is going to explain to this genius that diplomats routinely observe court proceedings — that is not equivalent to them taking a position on any case,” she said. “This is a standard practice but it’s very clear where the pressure is coming from to malign the ambassador.”
A day earlier, the Supreme Court had halted trial proceedings against the couple in a lower court pending the outcome of their appeals in the Islamabad High Court. The three-judge bench, led by Justice Muhammad Hashim Khan Kakar and including Justices Salahuddin Panwhar and Ishtiaq Ibrahim, issued the stay while considering Mazari-Hazir’s appeal against a Dec. 1 high court decision that refused to grant interim relief by staying the trial.
In the order, Justice Kakar said: “we expect the IHC to decide on the fate of the petition after providing a full opportunity of hearing to both parties.” The directive paused proceedings set to resume on Dec. 15 before Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka.
The couple faces charges under Sections 9, 10, 11 and 26 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act of 2016. They were indicted on Oct. 30. The case stems from an Aug. 12 complaint filed by an assistant director at the National Cybercrime Investigation Agency with the Federal Investigation Agency’s Cybercrime Reporting Center. It accused Mazari-Hazir of disseminating and propagating narratives that align with hostile terrorist groups and proscribed organisations, while Chattha was implicated for reposting some of her content.
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