SC says its May 25 order was ‘misused'

Bench seeks detailed reply from Imran on contempt petition

ISLAMABAD:

The Supreme Court on Wednesday observed that its orders on May 25 this year, wherein the PTI’s previous long march was restricted from entering Islamabad’s D-Chowk, was “misused”.

A five-member larger bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, continued hearing a contempt petition against PTI Chairman and former premier Imran Khan.

The bench sought a detailed reply from the PTI chief over the violation of the May 25 order.

During the hearing, CJP Bandial noted that the court had moved carefully in this case. “Even now we are exercising great restraint,” he added. The chief justice further remarked that the judges did not want their pen to be “misused”.

He stressed the need for protecting the Constitution. “If we believe in democracy, then the citizens' rights should not be violated during the protests,” he observed.

The chief justice also referred to PTI Senator Azam Swati’s statement in which he had claimed that his dignity was violated, while he was in police custody.

The chief justice wondered how the government, which formed under the Constitution, was violating the fundamental rights of the citizens.

The bench also expressed its disappointment over two PTI lawyers, Dr Babar Awan and Chaudhry Faisal Hussain, for violating the court’s trust about the May 25 order.

The chief justice noted that it appeared that the SC was misled by these two lawyers. “When our trust is breached, then it is very wrong,” he added.

Justice Ijazul Ahsan also observed that the SC order was misused. Later, the hearing of the case was adjourned until next week.

During an earlier hearing, in his reply to the SC over the contempt of court plea, the former prime minister had maintained that he was unaware of any statement or undertaking submitted to the court on behalf of the “senior leadership” of his party ahead of the May 25 march.

Imran had submitted his reply after the apex court had directed him to present a written response after examining reports filed by the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), Intelligence Bureau (IB), and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

The apex court had issued clear instructions to the PTI to hold its Azadi March protest near Peshawar Mor between the H-9 and G-9 areas of Islamabad.

However, Imran and his protesters made their way towards D-Chowk, prompting the government to call in the army for the security of the federal capital’s Red Zone.