ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman, Imran Khan, instead of tendering apology, has again expressed regret over his remarks against Additional Sessions Judge Zeba Chaudhry, who had approved the PTI leader Shahbaz Gill’s physical remand in a sedition case.
As a five-judge bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) will take up contempt case against Imran Khan today (Thursday), the PTI chief in his supplementary reply submitted on Wednesday conveyed his “deep regret” over his “unintentional utterances” at a rally.
The IHC on August 31 after expressing disappointment over the PTI chairman’s written reply had granted him another chance to file a reply to the show-cause notice issued for threatening an additional sessions’ judge of Islamabad.
The reply states; “The respondent (Imran Khan) takes this opportunity to express his deep regrets over his unintentional utterances during the course of his speech at a rally which was taken out in response to shocking news of physical torture of Shahbaz Gill.”
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It is stated with respect that those utterances were unintentional and not meant to be directed towards the lady judge for whom he has a lot of respect, said the reply. The respondent never meant to hurt her feelings and if her feelings have been hurt, it is deeply regretted. The PTI chief neither meant to threaten the lady judge nor could he think of doing so, it added.
The reply submitted by the PTI legal team, headed by Hamid Khan, on behalf of Imran Khan further stated; “The respondent has respect for the judiciary including the subordinate judiciary and he believes that judges of the subordinate/district judiciary should be strong and independent in order to dispense justice to the common man.”
It also said that Imran Khan believes that judges of the subordinate/district judiciary are performing vital functions for dispensation of justice for which he has enormous respect for them all and stands firmly for the rights of women in Pakistan and strongly supports the idea of greater induction and representation of lady judges, both in the superior as well as the subordinate courts.
The PTI chief assured the High Court that he would not shy away from expressing his remorse to her. Those utterances were never meant to interfere with or in any way influence the course of administration of justice. He believes that Courts all over Pakistan are adhering to the rule of law and the Constitution, said the reply.
The reply submitted and clarified that Imran Khan was not aware of the fact that any appeal or other legal proceedings in respect of the same subject matter were sub-judice before this Court. He believed that after the grant of physical remand of Gill, by the Courts below, the matter had ended there. As submitted previously, the alleged news of torture was widely reported in social, print and electronic media which were very disturbing for the respondent.
Imran Khan in his earlier reply, submitted before the IHC on August 30, had expressed his willingness to “take back” his words about ASJ Zeba Chaudhry if they were “regarded as inappropriate” and pleaded before the IHC that the judges who had agreed to initiate the case against him should consider withdrawing themselves from the bench as, according to him, they had pre-judged the matter.
In his reply, submitted through counsels, Hamid Khan and Barrister Salman Safdar, he had asked the court to examine the contents of his speech in the context of his intention.
The reply had explained that Imran was under a misconception that judge Chaudhry was an executive magistrate carrying out executive or administrative functions on the federal government’s orders.
The IHC chief justice in the last hearing (August 31) had given Imran another chance to submit a “well-considered” response in the contempt proceedings against him.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022