Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan appears in court in contempt case

The five-member bench of the court docket, led by the Chief Justice Athar Minallah, heard Khan’s case on Wednesday.

Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan (centre) has confronted mounting authorized challenges after his August 20 speech criticising the police and the decide [Abid Husssain/Al Jazeera]

Islamabad, Pakistan – Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has been given one other likelihood by the Islamabad Excessive Court docket to submit a “supplementary” response relating to a contempt of court docket case initiated towards him over remarks made a few decide.

The five-member bench of the court docket, led by Chief Justice Athar Minallah, heard Khan’s case on Wednesday.

The court docket expressed disappointment at an earlier response to the allegations submitted by Khan and stated it had hoped to conclude the proceedings on Wednesday however couldn't achieve this because of the reply that was submitted.

After almost an hour-long listening to, the court docket was adjourned till September 8 and an order was issued terming Khan’s submission as “unsatisfactory”. Khan, who appeared in court docket in individual, and his authorized group got an additional seven days to resubmit their response.

Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan (centre) on the Islamabad Excessive Court docket [Abid Hussain/Al Jazeera]

Khan’s contempt of court docket case was initiated after a speech he gave on August 20, the place he threatened to file a court docket grievance towards senior police officers following the arrest of his shut aide, Shahbaz Gill earlier this month.

Khan additionally singled out Decide Zeba Chaudhry who, in a separate growth, had accredited the two-day detention of Gill after he was accused of inciting a mutiny in Pakistan’s highly effective navy. Gill faces sedition costs arising from his alleged feedback.

‘A mistake was made’

There was a heavy police presence on the Excessive Court docket on Wednesday, and solely folks with prior permission have been allowed entry to the courtroom. Khan – chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) – appeared alongside different get together leaders roughly 10 minutes earlier than the listening to was scheduled to begin at 2.30pm native time (19:30 GMT on Tuesday).

Wanting assured and relaxed, Khan sat behind his group of legal professionals and carefully adopted the proceedings.

Starting the listening to, Chief Justice Athar Minallah expressed disappointment on the response submitted by Khan on Tuesday.

Safety personnel on the Islamabad Excessive Court docket [Abid Hussain/Al Jazeera]

“The response that was submitted was not of the stature of a political chief like Khan,” the chief justice stated.

“There ought to be realisation that a mistake was made,” he continued. “Time has handed and phrases which were stated can't be taken again,” he added.

Khan’s lawyer, Hamid Khan, who is just not associated to the previous prime minister, requested that the court docket present one other alternative for his consumer to submit a reply. His consumer, he added, had no intention to make offensive remarks in regards to the decide.

On Tuesday, Khan submitted a reply to the Excessive Court docket expressing his “willingness to take again his phrases” relating to Decide Chaudhry in the event that they have been “thought to be inappropriate”.

Khan additionally requested that the court docket eliminate the contempt case towards him, and known as on the court docket to contemplate his speech “in context of his intention”, which was not meant to threaten a judicial officer or convey the administration of legislation into disrepute.

Khan’s authorized woes

Following the toppling of his authorities in April, Khan has held quite a few giant rallies throughout which he has closely criticised political opponents, state establishments, the safety forces, and so-called “neutrals” – a commonly-used euphemism for Pakistan’s highly effective navy institution.

However the cricket star-turned-politician has confronted mounting authorized challenges after his August 20 speech criticising the police and the decide.

In addition to contempt of court docket, different circumstances have been filed towards Khan, together with one beneath the nation’s strict anti-terrorism legal guidelines for “threatening” senior police officers and a decide. He has additionally been charged with illegal meeting.

Pakistan’s state media regulator additionally positioned a ban on dwell broadcasts of Khan’s speeches, calling them a “violation of Article 19 of the Structure”.

The Pakistan Digital Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) dominated that solely Khan’s “recorded” phrases have been permitted to be broadcast as an “efficient delay mechanism” to make sure editorial management.

Nonetheless, occasions over the previous couple of days have given Khan some reduction. Firstly, he was issued interim bail by the anti-terrorism court docket in Islamabad till September 1.

That was adopted by bail issued for the illegal meeting cost.

Then on Monday, the Excessive Court docket suspended the ban on Khan’s dwell broadcasts, ruling that the state’s media regulator had “exceeded its authority” in banning his dwell speeches.

Chief Justice Minallah additionally directed the PEMRA to appoint an official to seem earlier than the court docket and justify the issuance of the dwell broadcast prohibition order towards Khan.