A visibly worried Imran Khan came to the Supreme Court, along with senior leaders of his party, on Wednesday to face the contempt charge for his tirade against the judiciary at a press conference. But he left as a free man after the court absolved him of committing the contempt. `The notice is discharged, announced a three-judge bench in a surprise move. It was Mr Khan`s second appearance before the bench comprising Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain and Justice Ijaz Ahmed Chaudhry which had expressed displeasure over the word `sharamnak` (shameful) used by the PTI chief at his press conference on July 26 while criticising some judicial actions. The bench was not satisfied with a reply filed earlier by the PTI chief which it said did not contain any remorse, apol-ogy or regrets, although all kinds of explanations were given for using the word. Even on Wednesday Mr Khan could not pacify the bench when he said that although the court recognised his struggle and stature, it was not ready to accept his assurance that he could never think of undermining it and that he had used the word `sharamnak` for the judicial officers associated with election matters, and not for the superior judiciary. But it was the statement of Attorney General Muneer A. Malik which did the trick. The attorney general who acts as prosecutor in contempt matters said it was his belief that the dignity of the Supreme Court rested on the surest foundation of public respect and admiration. `This is the most independent judiciary in our history. We as a nation have reached a point in our history that whosoever makes allegation against thejudiciary, people will never believe it and the judiciary will remain untainted,` the AG said. He said the present contempt case was not one of disobedience of Supreme Court orders and the surest foundation of dignity was still alive. The legitimacy of the court will always be there in the eyes of the people. The moment Mr Malik concluded his brief arguments, the court discharged the contempt notice against Mr Khan. Attired in a white shalwar-kameez and black waistcoat, Mr Khan had arrived at the SC premises amid tight security and greetings and slogans by workers and supporters of his party. The courtroom-2 was packed to capacity. The PTI chief was accompanied by leaders of his party, including Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Shafgat Mehmood, Chaudhry Sarwar and Shireen Mazari. Mr Khan`s panel of lawyers headed by Advocate Hamid Khan comprised Mohammad Anwar Qazi, Ahmad Awais and Mohammad Waqar Rana. Hamid Khan clarified before the bench that at a number of press conferences his client had tried to dispel the impression that the Supreme Court or any superior court was the target of his criticism. He regretted that appeals moved by the PTI candidates against riggings in the May 11 elections had been pending before tribunals for three months. He said the purpose of the July 26 press conference was for the future of democracy in the country. The apex court should have taken notice of the rigging. The counsel said other political parties had also criticised the judiciary, but they had been spared and the PTI was in the dock. But the court said there was a difference between the PTI and other political parties because Imran Khan being a frontline leader commanded much more respect than others and that nobody could expect such words against the dignity of an institution from a political leader of such a stature. `How things will end up if encouraged,` the court said and asked the counsel if he wanted a judgment suggesting the word `sharamnak` if used against the judiciary did not have a derogatory connotation and that such a judgment be cited as precedence in future. Imran Khan argued that if the trend of election rigging was not timely checked it would encourage political parties to compete in manipulating the system to rig elections and form government in future. And Pakistan would soon become a `banana republic`, he emphasised.
Posted on: Thu, 29 Aug 2013 20:45:25 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015