Farooq Naeem—AFP
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday deferred for a week the framing of contempt charges against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan after he said he apologizes “if I crossed a line” when referring to Additional District and Sessions Judge Zeba Chaudhry at a public rally last month.
Last week, the IHC had said it would formally indict Khan on contempt charges over his remarks after he had refused to issue an “unconditional” apology for “threatening” the woman judge over her granting Islamabad police physical remand of his aide, Shahbaz Gill, in a sedition case. During that hearing, the court had said his revised response was “unsatisfactory” and announced an intent to indict him.
“I apologize if I crossed any line. It won’t happen again,” Khan said during today’s hearing, adding he had learnt of the seriousness of his offense during proceedings. “This was not my intention. Is there anything else I can do to satisfy the court?” he said, adding he was also willing to apologize to the woman judge. He also justified his comments once more, saying his remarks about “taking action” had referred to legal action only. To this, IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah said he “appreciated” Khan’s recognition of his offense and directed the ousted prime minister to submit an affidavit with his latest response before the case could proceed or be disposed of. The case would now resume on Oct. 3.
Case history
Acting IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq decided to initiate contempt proceedings against Imran Khan while hearing a petition challenging Gill’s police remand. The court then summoned the PTI chief on Aug. 31, issuing him a show-cause notice, to which he replied with a willingness to “take back” his words if they were “regarded as inappropriate.” The reply also sought judges who had agreed to initiate the case against him to recuse themselves as, he claimed, they had pre-judged him.
This response was deemed “unsatisfactory,” with the court directing Khan to re-submit it. The second reply given by Khan also stopped short of an unconditional apology, with the ousted prime minister appearing to justify his comments. In the next hearing, on Sept. 8, the IHC decided to Indict Imran after once again calling his response “unsatisfactory.”