2 yıl önce

Pakistan court drops contempt case against former PM Khan

The charges were related to a speech by Imran Khan in which he was accused of threatening police and judicial officers after one of his close aides was denied bail in a sedition case.

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The Islamabad High Court had deferred Khan's indictment over the contempt case after he apologised to the court in person late last month.

A Pakistani court has accepted former Prime Minister Imran Khan's written apology in a contempt case stemming from his statements against a female judge that was seen as a threat, court officials and a defence lawyer have said.

Monday's ruling by the Islamabad High Court averted Khan's possible disqualification to run for the next parliamentary elections.

Khan initially refused to apologise for his remarks, but last month reversed course and submitted a written apology.

Khan's lawyer, Babar Awan, said the court dismissed the contempt charge that had been issued last month in connection with the former premier's remarks about judge Zeba Chaudhry.

The ruling came weeks after Athar Minallah, the chief justice at the Islamabad High Court, issued a contempt notice to Khan for threatening Chaudhry during a rally in August.

Khan had vowed to bring a lawsuit against Chaudhry for allowing Islamabad police to question Shahbaz Gill, who is chief of staff of Khan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf political party.

Khan, a former cricket star turned politician who became premier in 2018, is still facing multiple cases, including defying a ban on rallies in Islamabad and issuing verbal threats to police.

Khan was ousted in a no-confidence vote by parliament in April.

He claims his government was ousted in a US-sponsored conspiracy, a charge Washington and Pakistan’s army reject.

SOURCE: AP