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IHC decides to discharge contempt notice against Imran Khan

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  • IHC discharges contempt notice against Imran Khan.
  • IHC CJ says court is satisfied with PTI chairman’s conduct.
  • Court issues unanimous verdict.

In a major development, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) Monday, in a unanimous verdict, decided to discharge the contempt notice against former prime minister Imran Khan.

A larger bench, headed by IHC Cheif Justice Athar Minallah and comprising Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, and Justice Babar Sattar,  heard the case today.

The former prime minister was facing contempt charges for his controversial remarks about Judicial Magistrate Zeba Chaudhry during a rally in Islamabad on August 20.

At the outset of today’s hearing, IHC CJ Minallah said that the bench has seen the affidavit submitted by Imran Khan.

“Imran Khan demonstrated honesty and went to apologise to the judge,” he remarked, adding that discharging the contempt notice is the bench’s unanimous decision.

Justice Minallah also stated that the court is also “satisfied” with Imran Khan’s conduct.

While announcing the verdict, the court discharged the contempt of court notice against Imran Khan.

Following the court’s verdict, the PTI chief said that the court has taken a “great decision”.

‘Won’t go back to assembly’: Imran Khan

Earlier, while speaking to the journalists outside the court, the PTI chief said that the party MNAs will not go back to the National Assembly.

The former premier, talking about the return of PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz’s passport, said that the nation is upset as these “thieves” are getting NRO II.

“It is proved that there is no rule of law in this country,” he responded.

‘Fitna has been forgiven’: Maryam Nawaz

In response to the IHC verdict, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz said that “fitna” has been forgiven.

“The contempt was committed and in front of the entire world. So instead of saying that the case has been dismissed, it would be more appropriate to say that fitna has been forgiven,” Maryam wrote on Twitter.

Reacting to the PML-N leader’s Tweet, former federal minister Fawad Chaudhry said that the case against Khan was based on a misunderstanding.

He said that the actual issue is about PML-N leaders’ “properties worth billions of rupees” which is being forgiven — an indirect reference to Maryam Nawaz’s acquittal in Avenfield corruption reference by the IHC.

Imran Khan avoid’s tendering unconditional apology 

At a hearing on September 22, Khan had surprisingly apologised before the IHC and assured the bench that he would not issue such a statement again — leading the court to delay his indictment.

However, Khan — for the third time — avoided tendering an unconditional apology in the contempt case as he submitted his response to IHC last week. 

In his latest response, although mentioning that he “might have crossed a red line while making a public speech”, Khan fell short of apologizing for his remarks.

He stated that he assures the court that he is willing to explain and clarify before the female judge that neither he nor his party sought any action against her, and he would “never do anything in future” that would hurt the dignity of any court and the judiciary, especially the lower judiciary.

The PTI chairman added that he is willing to take any further steps that the IHC deems necessary and that he never intended to interfere with the process of the court or impugn the dignity or independence of the judiciary.

The former chief executive said that he stands by his September 22 statement and “once again assure[s] this court that he would always abide by the afore-referred statement, in letter and spirit”.

Earlier, the former premier reached the court of judge Zeba Chauhdry to personally apologise to her but she was on leave that day.

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Bushra Bibi maintains bail as the IHC concludes the FIA’s petition.

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The Islamabad High Court (IHC) conducted a hearing about the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) plea for the revocation of Bushra Bibi’s bail.

The court, led by Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, rejected the FIA’s petition during the hearing.

Judicial Proceedings

Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb sought information regarding Bushra Bibi’s location, to which her attorney, Barrister Salman Safdar, affirmed her attendance in court.

The judge urged the counsel to regard the matters with gravity, underscoring the necessity of adherence to trial protocols.

The court sought details about instances where Bushra Bibi had been exempted from attending trial hearings and clarified that if the High Court grants bail and the accused fails to appear, the trial court holds the authority to cancel the bail.

Justice Aurangzeb assured that such actions would not amount to contempt of the High Court’s order.

Based on these considerations, the court closed the proceedings and dismissed the FIA’s plea.

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The Supreme Court has granted the appeal of the PTI founder for a judicial probe into the events of May 9.

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The Supreme Court has officially accepted the plea submitted by the PTI chairman for a judicial probe into the events of May 9 for a comprehensive hearing.

The constitutional bench of the Supreme Court annulled the registrar’s office’s objections to the petition and instructed the office to allocate a case number and arrange the hearing.

The PTI chairman was represented by prominent attorney Hamid Khan, who appeared in court to argue for the petition’s admission.

The Lahore Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) already convicted Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan in connection with the incidents on May 9 and denied his bail on eight distinct counts.

The court’s finding was delivered in a six-page written order by ATC Judge Manzar Ali Gul.

The written ruling emphasized substantial evidence against the PTI founder, comprising audio and visual recordings of his directives to incite violence.

The court observed that witnesses had provided testimony on the conspiracy planned by Imran Khan at Zaman Park, where he purportedly strategized for his possible arrest by intending to disrupt state functions via his supporters.

Imran Khan’s legal counsel contended that he was in custody at the time of the incidents, proposing that bail be granted in accordance with precedents where bail was awarded in like circumstances following detention.

Nevertheless, the court rejected this argument, underscoring that the case’s nature was not a trifling issue of conspiracy or incitement.

The prosecution established that Mr. Khan had explicitly incited assaults on military and governmental facilities and had galvanized both his commanders and supporters to adhere to his directives.

The decision additionally cited the Lahore High Court’s finding regarding a prior release granted to Ijaz Chaudhry, highlighting Imran Khan’s involvement in the conspiracy. The court dismissed the defense’s challenge over the prosecution’s lack of specificity concerning the date, time, or location of the purported conspiracy, affirming that the scheme was allegedly devised on May 7 and May 9 at Zaman Park.

The prosecution asserts that undercover police officers, masquerading as PTI supporters, intercepted discussions outlining the scheme.

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188 cases nationwide have been filed against the PTI founder.

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This increase, according to details, followed the submission of a report to the Islamabad High Court in response to a petition brought by Norin, the sister of the PTI founder.

Punjab has the most cases against Imran Khan (99), according to the Ministry of Interior’s report that breaks down the cases by area.

There are 76 cases in Islamabad, according to the Islamabad Police data, compared to two in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

In addition, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) is investigating three instances, while the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) is still investigating seven cases.

Cases against Imran Khan also concern the protests in October, November, and December. In addition, there is an ongoing appeal in the Toshakhana criminal case against his sentencing.

Yesterday, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder along with 60 other PTI leaders were indicted in the GHQ attack case.

Imran Khan and sixty other party leaders were charged in the GHQ attack case by Judge Amjad Ali Shah of the anti-terrorism court.

Imran Khan, who is presently detained at Adiala Jail, was released on bail in the Toshakhana case but was arrested again by the police in the New Town PS case.

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