Imran Khan to explain speech as Pakistan court mulls contempt

Islamabad: A court in Pakistan told former Prime Minister Imran Khan to explain in writing his angry comments against a female judge who had denied bail to Khan’s close aid, as it continues to mull initiating contempt proceedings against him.

A five-judge panel headed by Chief Justice Athar Minallah on Wednesday directed the former leader to submit a response within a week explaining why he shouldn’t be charged for contempt of court, Khan’s associate Rauf Hasan said over the phone.

In a written response on Tuesday, Khan had told the court it had pre-judged his comments and denied threatening the judge at a rally earlier this month. However,  he said he would take back his words if they were "inappropriate,” the Dawn newspaper reported. The court is seeking an apology from Khan before dismissing the case against him, Geo television said, citing legal experts.

Wednesday’s hearing at the Islamabad High Court was held amid tight security. In the past, courts have given a six-month jail term to people accused of contempt of court and also disqualified them from holding public office.

The latest legal proceedings against the cricket star turned politician stem from remarks he made against some police officials and a female judge at a public rally. Police in Islamabad also filed a separate complaint after that speech seeking action against the former leader under the country’s anti-terror laws. 

Khan won a preemptive bail protecting him from arrest in the second case until Thursday, when the court will revisit the matter. Under Pakistani law, a conviction in a criminal case bars a person from running for parliament.

After being ousted from office through a no-confidence vote in April, the former cricket star has held massive public gatherings where he targeted not just his political rivals but also the judiciary and the military. He has demanded Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government dissolve parliament and hold fresh elections.

The government is also looking at ways it can ban Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, from national elections that must be held by late next year. Khan’s top aide Shahbaz Gill has been arrested on charges of sedition for televised comments he made urging army troops not to accept any illegal order from the top military leadership.

The political uncertainty could impact the government’s efforts to stem one of Asia’s fastest inflation rates and also to tackle foreign exchange shortages.