Ex-PM Khan Attends Court Amid Tight Security
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Imran Khan on Thursday arrived at the Islamabad High Court (IHC) amid tight security, according to sources, expressing displeasure over the heavy deployment of the police outside the court during his hearing of a terrorist case filed against him.
In late August, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chief Imran Khan has been booked in a terrorism case on the complaint of Islamabad Saddar Magistrate Ali Javed for threatening a female judge of the federal capital.
Speaking to reporters, Imran expressed displeasure over the heavy deployment of police and other law enforcement agencies at the court. He wondered who the authorities feared, as they had deployed a heavy contingent of police outside the IHC.
Imran refused to speak more, saying his comments might be misconstrued by the court and said that he will speak after attending the hearing, The News International reported.
Talking to the media persons after the court decided to indict him in the contempt of court case, Imran told reporters that he wanted to contextualise his statement in the court regarding the woman judge but was not given the opportunity to do so.
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“Every statement has a context. The country is regressing day by day, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) report has shown it. They can do whatever they want, but the only solution to the instability is fresh elections,” he added, as quoted by Hindustan Times.
Imran said he did not victimize any of his opponents in his tenure adding there were some cases that were mishandled, but he came to know about them afterwards. The PTI chief rejected speculations about backdoor contacts with some ‘important’ figures, The News International reported.
The former PM is currently on bail till September 12. He was issued a notice by Islamabad Police for failing to appear before the Joint Investigation Team in the terrorism case.
Why was Anti-Terrorism Law Invoked against Khan?
On August 20, in a speech in Islamabad to protest the arrest and alleged torture of his Chief of Staff Shahbaz Gill, Khan is accused of “threatening” state officials and promising to mount a legal challenge after Gill was arrested on August 9.
Khan alleged police have tortured Gill while in custody, claiming they have gained widespread traction among the former prime minister’s supporters. But Islamabad police denied the allegations, telling CNN on Saturday that Gill has not been tortured.
Pakistan’s media regulatory authority in a statement on Sunday accused Khan of levelling “baseless allegations” and “spreading hate speech” against “state institutions and officers”, and placed a ban on live broadcasts of his speeches on national television,” as Aljazeera reported.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah delivered a news conference on Sunday in which he said the government is exploring options to file a case against the former prime minister for his “provocative speech”.
“Imran Niazi will have to face the law for threatening and hurling abuses at the Magistrate and Police officers. Such acts of brazen thuggery are responsible for instigating extremism in society,” he said in a tweet. “You [Imran Khan] are not allowed to challenge the writ of the state by inciting rebellion.”
Ever since his government was toppled in April, the chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan carried out a huge public outreach effort, during which he delivered blistering remarks against his political opponents, state institutions, and local police.
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EIDTORS NOTE: Hindustan Times reported the news on Khan attending the hearing at IHC; Khaama Press does not hold responsibility for the content.
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