Human rights activist and lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir has moved the Islamabad High Court (IHC) registrar, seeking preservation of CCTV footage of what she described as an “unfortunate incident” during her exchange with Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar earlier this week.
In an application also shared on social media platform X, Mazari requested that footage of Courtroom No. 1 from 9am to 11am on 11 September 2025 be secured, adding that she had attached a USB to obtain a copy of the recording.
The exchange took place during a hearing on a petition seeking removal of Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) chief Dr Mahrang Baloch’s name from the Exit Control List (ECL).
On Friday, the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) strongly condemned reports of the heated exchange between Mazari and the IHC chief justice. In a joint statement, LHCBA office-bearers President Malik Asif Ahmed Neswana, Vice President Abdul Rehman Ranjha and Secretary Farrukh Ilyas Cheema said lawyers appear in court to represent clients and “deserve the same respect and dignity as judges.”
They termed the judge’s alleged “authoritarian attitude” a violation of judicial ethics and urged the Supreme Judicial Council to take notice of the matter and remove the IHC chief justice.
The controversy arose after Chief Justice Dogar warned Mazari of contempt proceedings when she allegedly referred to him as a “dictator” during Thursday’s proceedings.
