Imran Khan stands his ground

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chief Imran Khan has walked away from the contempt of court case against him a free man. The two-member bench of the Supreme Court hearing the case against him dismissed it on August 28, while sticking firmly to its position that the word ‘shameful’ was indeed a term of abuse when used against the judiciary. The judges suggested, while rejecting a detailed response handed in to the Court by his lawyer, that the dictionary be consulted to clarify the meaning of the term used by the PTI chief.

The contempt charges against Imran stem, of course, from a July press talk during which he had termed the conduct of the judiciary ‘shameful’ during the May 11 elections. The remark was promptly taken notice of by the SC, which called Imran up for contempt. His argument that he had been referring to the lower judiciary and the officials who conducted the polling was rejected. Imran’s brief rejoinder of August 2 was turned down and his multi-page reply submitted to the apex Court on August 28 was not accepted either. However, rather wisely, the Court opted to dismiss the closely watched case, ending the controversy that had surrounded it with Imran choosing to stand by his own version of events.

The manner in which things have ended will be welcomed by us all, and perhaps, most of all by the PTI and Imran Khan himself. In this, he can consider himself lucky, especially when his case is compared with that of former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, who was convicted for contempt of court in April 2012, for failing to follow Court orders, and lost his right to hold public office. Imran, in comparison, has escaped unscathed. He must now turn his attention to the various challenges that lie ahead of him, with the burden of the contempt case now lifted. The SC, of course, has also made its point and all our leaders would do well to keep this in view, when making any statements that refer to the judiciary.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 29^th, 2013.

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