Pakistani court dismisses contempt case against former Premier Imran Khan

ISLAMABAD

A Pakistani court on Monday dismissed the contempt of court case against former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

A five-member bench of the Islamabad High Court, headed by Chief Justice Athar Minallah, accepted Khan’s affidavit and dismissed the show-cause notice.

The chief justice also praised Khan for going to the court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Zeba Chaudhry for an apology.

Babar Awan, the legal adviser for Khan, said the former premier went to judge Zeba’s court for an apology but she was not present in her court.

“I also later went to her home as well and conveyed Khan's apology,” Awan told a local broadcaster Bol News.

Praising the verdict, Khan told reporters outside the court: “Chief Justice Athar Minallah always do justice.”

On Sept. 22, the court deferred the case proceedings for two weeks after Khan expressed his willingness to apologize for his controversial remarks about the woman judge.

The court initiated contempt proceedings against Khan following his speech at a public rally in Islamabad on Aug. 20. He was accused of threatening police officials and the woman judge who extended the physical remand of Shahbaz Gill, his chief of staff, arrested over treason charges.

Khan's party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) claimed that Gill was tortured in police custody, which the authorities denied. Last month, Islamabad High Court released Gill on bail.

Earlier in his written reply to the court, Khan regretted his remarks in which he said he would initiate legal action against the officials, but did not tender an unconditional apology.

On Sept. 8, the court announced that the former premier would be indicted for contempt of court on Sept. 22.

The government also filed a terrorism case against Khan in the same case, but last month, the Islamabad High Court ordered the police to drop the terrorism charges against him.

Since his ouster from power in a no-confidence vote in April, Khan has staged a series of anti-government rallies and called for early elections, which are otherwise scheduled for mid-2023.