ISLAMABAD: A larger bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has starting the hearing of contempt of court case against PTI Chairman Imran Khan for threatening Zeba Chaudhry, Additional Sessions Judge, Islamabad.
The bench consists of Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Justice Babar Sattar and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb.
The PTI had organised a rally in the federal capital on August 20 to express solidarity with his chief of staff Shehbaz Gill after allegations of torture in custody. Imran Khan warned the Islamabad inspector-general and deputy inspector-general that he would “not spare” them, vowing to file cases against them for subjecting Gill to alleged inhuman torture.
Turning his guns towards the additional sessions judge Zeba Chaudhry, who sent Gill into physical remand on the police’s request for two days, Khan had then said she [the judge] should brace herself for consequences.
This issue seems to be a threat for Imran Khan, who has been campaigning for new elections after he was ousted from power through a no-confidence vote. Any court conviction would disqualify him for contesting election or heading his political party, experts said.
“It is a criminal conviction,” a retired judge, Shaiq Usmani, said adding that PTI chief can face six months jail if convicted.
The contempt issue is in addition to charges under an anti-terror law that police filed against Khan over what they said was a threat in his speech about Shahbaz Gill who faces sedition charges for inciting mutiny in the military.
The use of anti-terrorism laws as the grounds for cases against political leaders is not uncommon in Pakistan, where Khan’s government also used them against opponents and critics.
