ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial has clarified that his remark “Good to see you, Imran Khan” was misreported in the media and social media.
The chief justice on May 11, while hearing the arrest of Imran from the Islamabad High Court (IHC) premises by the Rangers when he was in the process of biometrics, ordered the Advocate General to produce Imran Khan before it at 04:00 p.m. On his arrival in the courtroom, the chief justice called him on the rostrum and said; “Good to see you.”
At the outset of Imran Khan’s petition against the NAB amendments, the chief justice said: “Whatever I said the other day in the court was misreported in the media and social media.”
Cabinet censures CJP’s ‘good to see you’ remark
CJP Bandial stated the same things during the hearing of the civil case. He, while addressing lawyer Asghar Sabzwari stressed the importance of good manners. He said everyone deserves basic respect and good manners. The chief justice lamented that he was subjected to criticism for offering a simple greeting to the former prime minister.
The chief justice’s remarks came a day after the ruling coalition’s – the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) – protest outside the Supreme Court (SC) against CJP Bandial’s alleged preferential treatment to former premier Imran.
The ruling alliance had announced staging the sit-in right outside the top court after a three-judge bench led by CJP Bandial declared Imran’s arrest from the premises of the IHC illegal and directed his immediate release on May 11.
On May 9, 2023, Rangers barged into the IHC premises, where Imran had appeared in connection with the Al-Qadir Trust case to face graft proceedings against him, and whisked the former premier away in a whirlwind raid carried out on the National Accountability Bureau (NAB)’s behalf.
The arrest, or “abduction” as PTI claims, took place before the court proceedings could begin. IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq called into question the manner of arrest, issuing contempt notices to the interior secretary and the Islamabad inspector-general of police (IGP) but maintained that the arrest itself was legal.
The next day, the IHC granted NAB eight-day physical remand of the PTI chairperson and indicted him in a separate graft case for which Imran and his legal team had earlier boycotted proceedings. Imran’s arrest brought the country to a standstill, with the government shutting off mobile internet services and restricting public access to information in retaliation to widespread protests across major cities.
The apparent dismissal of proper procedure when dealing with an accused and the involvement of the country’s paramilitary forces also garnered international attention, with global media outlets pointing to escalating tensions between the deposed prime minister and the incumbent civil-military relationships.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
Comments
Comments are closed.