I am not a habitual offender, Talal tells SC

The PML-N leader had allegedly incited the masses to oust ‘idles of PCO judges’ from the top court

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Talal Chaudhry insisted on Monday that he never intended to commit contempt of court and that he was not a habitual offender.

Deposing before a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Justice Gulzar Ahmad, the ruling party leader said he had delivered thousands of speeches, but no-one, including the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra), had raised any objection.

He said the word ‘PCO’ had consistently been used in the past and that he was only using it as a symbolic reference. The same word i.e. PCO judges was also used by activists of the lawyers’ movement and Charter of Democracy, he added.

Talal, the minister of state for interior, said he was a law graduate and a political worker belonging to a middle-class family. When Justice Gulzar asked him how he would define ‘middle class’, he said he owned some land and ran a business.



He said that during the ongoing election campaign, his political rivals were campaigning in his constituency, making people believe that he would be convicted. But, he added, he reposed confidence in the apex court and believed that justice would prevail.

When the bench asked Talal about two specific statements, he said his both statements had been telecast “out of context”. He said he held the judiciary in utmost esteem and Justice Gulzar responded by saying that it remained to be seen if he really respected the judiciary.

When Talal referred to the name of his party (PML-N), the bench stopped him, saying that the courtroom was not an appropriate platform to deliver speeches.

Kamran Murtaza, the counsel for Talal, again requested the bench to discharge the contempt notice.

The bench asked Talal to produce defence witnesses to corroborate his statement at the next hearing tomorrow (Wednesday).

Interestingly, neither Talal nor Danyal Aziz, another PML-N leader, tendered apologies over contempt of court notices. Nihal Hashmi has already been convicted in the same matter.

On March 15, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court indicted Talal on contempt of court charges. Talal is facing the charges because of two of his statements in January this year.