Imran Khan expresses his willingness to apologize
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday postponed the contempt case against PTI leader Imran Khan after expressing his willingness to issue an apology to District and Additional Sessions Judge Zeba Chaudhry.
The IHC launched a contempt case against Imran at a public rally in Islamabad’s F-9 park on August 20 for his rant against Judge Chaudhry, who authorized the remand of PTI leader Shahbaz Gill in a sedition case.
In the previous hearing, the IHC called the PTI chief’s revised response to the case “unsatisfactory” and decided to indict him on September 22 (today). A major bank headed by IHC CJ Athar Minallah, consisting of Judge Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Judge Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, Judge Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri and Judge Babar Sattar heard the case today. At today’s hearing, the former Prime Minister took a stand. He asked the bank for permission to record his testimony and said he was not allowed to speak at the final hearing.
“I am ready to apologize to the judge,” he told the court. “The court thinks I crossed a line. My intention was not to threaten the judge. If the court says so, I am prepared to personally go to the judge and apologize,” he said. “I assure the court that I will not do anything like this in the future,” he added. “I’m sorry if I crossed a red line”.
Following this, the IHC told CJ that the court would record the PTI leader’s testimony and asked Imran to submit an affidavit. “Fill out an affidavit detailing what you said,” the IHC Chief Justice said. “It is your personal choice to visit the judge in person,” the IHC bench said. “If you have acknowledged [your] mistake and are prepared to apologize for it […], that is enough,” the court noted. The hearing was later adjourned to October 3 with the court ordering the head of the PTI to file an affidavit within one week.
Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Imran said that PTI’s movement for “Haqeeqi Azaadi” (true freedom) was against the mafias. “I don’t want to fight the Pakistani judiciary”.
Imran Khan expresses his willingness to apologize
Previously, Imran was persecuted by reporters on his way to court along with party leaders Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Asad Umar and Shibli Faraz. Dressed in a black shalwar kameez and a gray waistcoat, he smiled at the reporters but didn’t answer their questions as he headed for the courtroom. The televised footage showed Faraz pushing for a seat behind Imran.
