ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Wednesday submitted a second reply in contempt of court notice against him by the Islamabad High Court (IHC), expressing deep regret over his unintentional utterances during the Faisalabad rally.
Imran Khan in his reply before the IHC expressed gratitude towards the IHC bench for giving him a second chance to submit his response in the case and said that he could not think of uttering anything against the judiciary.
He further said that his words were not meant to hurt the feelings of Judge Zeba Chaudhry and if her feeling have been hurt, it is deeply regretted. The reply from Imran Khan further said that he assures the court that he would not shy away from expressing his remorse to her.
However, the PTI chief has stopped short of offering an unconditional apology to the judge — often a basic requirement in contempt of court cases.
Instead, he urged the court to discharge him from the case under the Islamic principles of forgiveness and restraint and on the basis of his claim that he was ‘not aware’ that he was commenting on a sub judice matter.
The Islamabad High Court had granted one week time to Imran Khan when a larger bench, headed by IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah heard the contempt of court case against the PTI chief on August 31 to submit a fresh reply. The court had declared his reply submitted to the court a day before the hearing as inappropriate.
In the past contempt of court cases have led to the disqualification of public office holders including former Prime Miniter Yousaf Raza Gillani. Experts believe Imran Khan also faces the same risk, especially over his failure to offer an unconditional apology.
