Imran Khan was granted an extra week by the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SC) on Monday to submit a detailed reply to the contempt of court case that is still pending against him.
The contempt case against Imran was considered by a five-judge larger bench of the supreme court, presided over by Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial.
When the PTI was restricted from holding its Azadi March at Peshawar Mor between the H-9 and G-9 sectors of Islamabad on May 25, the federal government, through the interior ministry, petitioned the SC to begin contempt proceedings against the former prime minister.
To secure the Red Zone of the capital, the government summoned the Pakistan Army when Imran and his followers moved towards the D-Chowk.
On May 26, the same five-judge larger bench heard an application submitted by Pakistan’s Attorney General, Ashtar Ausaf Ali, for contempt of the court’s May 25 order.
The majority of justices, CJP Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Munib Akhtar, and Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi showed restraint and on June 1 requested reports from the directors of the Intelligence Bureau, Inter-Services Intelligence, Interior Secretary, and IG Islamabad on the alleged involvement of the PTI leaders in encouraging party members to travel to Islamabad’s D-Chowk in violation of the court’
However, during the previous hearing, the court expressed its “disappointment” in the PTI leadership for violating its trust by violating its order from May 25, 2022.
The justices were “extremely upset” that the court’s trust had been betrayed, CJP Bandial stated even during the hearing of the presidential reference earlier in November.
The PTI leadership “embarrassed” the judges, who were so kind and shielded the party’s activists from coercive steps taken by the PML-N-led federal and Punjab governments on May 25, according to senior lawyers who observed the court proceedings.
Despite this, the court allowed Imran’s lawyer’s request for an adjournment during the proceedings today, admitting that a “painful incident” had happened last Thursday.
As he led the PTI’s “Haqeeqi Azadi March” in Wazirabad, the former prime minister was shot in the leg as a result of an armed attack on his container.
According to PTI officials, the incident led to the death of one person and the injuries of several members of the PTI chairman’s close circle, including Senator Faisal Javaid, former Sindh governor Imran Ismail, Ahmad Chattha, and Imran Yousaf.
Even though Imran’s response says “is ready and if the court so pleases may be presented,” Imran’s lawyer Salman Akram Raja told the court today that he was only able to meet with the PTI leader for a short time due to the circumstances and asked for more time.
The CJP approved the counsel’s request for more time after acknowledging the severity of the situation. The court subsequently postponed the contempt case hearing to the following week and ordered Imran one week to submit a thorough response.
