ISLAMABAD — Pakistani police on Monday arrested a Pakistani lawyer and her husband known for handling human rights cases, drawing criticism from human rights groups.

Islamabad police announced in an X-post that they had arrested Amaan Mazari and Abdul Hadi on charges of interfering in government affairs to cause a security risk after they tried to forcefully remove a roadblock days earlier placed by the police in the capital for the security of the England cricket team.

Before her arrest, Mazari said she tried to remove the barricade because they were running late getting to a court in the city.

Pakistan’s Independent Human Rights Commission told X that it condemned the couple’s arrest “on vague charges of ‘creating a security risk.’

“Both are dedicated and respected human rights defenders whose arbitrary arrest is symptomatic of the rapidly shrinking space for activists in Pakistan,” it said, calling for the couple’s immediate release and the charges against them to be dropped.

Rights workers in Pakistan have come under increasing attack from the Pakistani government, narrowing the space for criticism and dissent. Mazari and Hadi often represent journalists, political and human rights activists who are detained by security forces without going through the procedures of reporting families and bringing them before the courts.