A Pakistan Court dropped a contempt case against former premier Imran Khan after he agreed to apologize for his angry comments against a female judge, his lawyer said. This eases some legal worries for the leader who would have been barred from running for office if convicted.
Khan appeared in court on Monday after submitting an affidavit to a five-judge panel of the Islamabad High Court headed by Chief Justice Athar Minallah, offering to apologize to the judge for the remarks made at a public rally in August. The court expressed its satisfaction over Khan’s conduct, Shoaib Shaheen, Khan’s lawyer, said by phone.
Khan faced a possible jail term of up to six months if convicted in the contempt case and a criminal conviction would also have barred him from contesting elections for five years.
Since his removal from power in a no-confidence vote in April, the former cricketer has campaigned for early elections in the country. He has held large rallies where he has targeted state institutions, including the country’s powerful army and judiciary, for being part of a conspiracy to topple him.
At one such rally in capital Islamabad Khan had made angry remarks against a judge who had denied bail to a top aide that led to the current hearing. Khan has seen multiple legal worries mount since being ousted from power for speeches and alleged wrongdoings during the government tenure. The court has already dropped a terror investigation against him stemming from the same comments
Last month, Khan said he would launch a fresh push for early elections — calling it the “True Freedom” movement and has been holding rallies in different cities.
(Curtesy Yahoo news)