Islamabad High Court (IHC) has given Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan another chance to submit his written reply again in the contempt of court case within seven days.
IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah remarked during the proceedings that the written statement had disappointed him as he was expecting an apology over the mistake. CJ Minallah said that he was not expecting such a written statement because the court was hopeful that the mistake would be realized.
Chief Justice Athar Minallah directed Imran Khan to submit his reply again after looking through the record, adding that he should write or speak carefully after thinking.
A five member bench of Islamabad High Court heard the case. IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah, Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri and Justice Babar Sattar were included in the bench.
Chief Justice Athar Minallah said that Imran Khan had questioned the opening of courts late night in a proper manner and he should have used the same kind of careful words in the matter related to the additional sessions judge. He said that the case was under court trial when the speech was made.
The chief justice said that every word of Imran Khan was important as a political leader has followers and therefore he should think before speaking.
Imran Khan’s lawyers Hamid Khan, Salman Safdar, Shoaib Shaheen, Niaz-ullah Niazi and Khalid Yousaf Chaudhry were present in the courtroom.
There were strict security arrangements by Islamabad police. Police has said that a special security plan had been devised for the court ahead of the hearing and only the individuals with permission from the IHC were allowed to enter the court premises.
The PTI chief had submitted his response to the Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) show-cause notice in the terrorism case against him for threatening the additional sessions judge.
Previously on August 23, a bench of IHC comprising of Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Justice Babar Sattar and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb had summoned PTI chairman in person on August 31 and the case was forwarded to Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial for inclusion of more judges in the bench.
PTI had staged a rally in the federal capital on August 20 to express solidarity with Shahbaz Gill after claims of torture inflicted on him in custody. Imran Khan had criticized senior police officers and the woman judge for being responsible for Gill’s situation.
