https://arab.news/wnmx3
- Police say Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir, husband hurled verbal abuses at traffic cops, removed barricades placed for the team’s safety
- Seven people, including six policemen, were killed in 2009 when the Sri Lankan cricket team came under attack in Pakistan’s Lahore city
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s capital city police have arrested human rights lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband on charges of interfering in government affairs by removing barricades placed on a road as part of the England cricket team’s security protocol in Islamabad, a police spokesman said on Monday.
The incident occurred on the morning of Oct. 25 at the Zero Point interchange when the England team was being transported to the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium for the third and final Test that was won by Pakistan.
However, the couple was arrested today following a police complaint that stated Mazari-Hazir, daughter of former federal minister Shireen Mazari, and her husband, Abdul Hadi, scuffled with traffic police after attempting to remove the barricades.
“Mazari-Hazir and her husband were arrested today, Monday, by the Aabpara Police Station on the charges of interference in the government operations,” Islamabad police spokesperson Jawad Taqi told Arab News.
He said a case was registered against the couple for violating the standard operating procedures for state guests as well as for threatening and shoving police officials.
In 2009, seven people, including six policemen, were killed when militants attacked the Sri Lankan cricket team in Pakistan’s eastern Lahore city. The attack proved a heavy blow to the cricket-loving nation with international games suspended in the country and even the Pakistan Super League, the country’s first Twenty20 league, had to be shifted to the United Arab Emirates. Zimbabwe was the first country to visit Pakistan to play cricket six years after the attack.
“Both husband and wife escaped from the spot by removing the barriers and the video of the incident went viral on social media,” the police spokesman said, adding that Hadi “pushed traffic police officers, verbally abused them and threatened them with dire consequences.”
The video shows Mazari-Hazir and Hadi attempting to remove the barricades as traffic police officials try to stop them. Hadi is seen lashing out at a policeman in abusive language and pushing him away, saying: “How dare you touch my wife?” He later screams at police officials, saying that “no one can stop him from reaching the court.”
Mazari-Hazir could not be reached for a comment as her phone was switched off. The lawyer is a known critic of Pakistan’s powerful military and has been arrested multiple times in the past for her fiery speeches at various gatherings.