- Police booked ex-PM over verbal threats to a judicial magistrate at a rally on Saturday
- Khan could be disqualified for life from politics if convicted of contempt of court
ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani court issued a show-cause notice to former Premier Imran Khan on Tuesday and
summoned him to appear in person next week in a contempt case following a speech in which he made verbal threats to a judicial magistrate at a weekend rally.
Since his ouster from power in a parliamentary vote of no-confidence earlier this year, Khan has refused to recognize the new government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and has since held several mass demonstrations across the country.
On Saturday, his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf party held a protest in the capital Islamabad against the detention of Khan’s chief of staff, Dr. Shahbaz Gill, whom the ex-PM said had been tortured in police custody after his arrest on charges of sedition earlier this month.
A police report of the rally quoted Khan as saying he “would not spare” Islamabad’s police chief and a female judge, Zeba Chaudhry. “The purpose of the speech was to spread terror among the police and the judiciary and prevent them from doing their duty,” police said in the report, as they also booked him under anti-terrorism laws.
While the Islamabad High Court on Monday granted Khan protective transit bail in the terrorism case until Aug. 25, it summoned him to appear for a hearing in the contempt of court case on Aug. 31.
“A female additional sessions judge who is hearing thousands of cases including murder, dacoity and other cases of sensitive nature has been threatened,” Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani said after issuing the notice for Khan.
“This matter is not limited to only a female judge of Islamabad, but the whole judiciary has been maligned.”
The court ordered the Islamabad police to provide additional security to the female judge.
Khan’s party has dismissed the accusations against him as being politically motivated.
The ex-PM, who came into power in 2018 and was ousted in April in a no-confidence vote in parliament, could be disqualified for life from politics if convicted of insulting Chaudhry.
The terrorism charge against him could carry a penalty ranging from several months to 14 years in prison, the equivalent of a life sentence.
Since his ouster, Khan has alleged — without providing evidence — that rival politicians in Pakistan took part in a US plot to oust him. Washington, the Pakistani military and the government of Khan’s successor have all denied the allegation.