A local court in Islamabad on Wednesday dismissed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s plea for acquittal in a case where he was accused of threatening a female judge.
District and sessions court judge Mureed Abbas declared that “the PTI chairman does not deserve acquittal in the case of threatening a female judge.”
The verdict comes after the court had earlier reserved its decision, following the completion of arguments from all parties involved in the case. Additionally, the court has decided to conduct Imran Khan’s trial anew, adjourning the hearing until December 20.
The case against the former prime minister was registered in August 2022 at Margalla police station under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA). Imran Khan faced accusations of making intimidating remarks against Additional Sessions Judge Zeba Chaudhry and senior Islamabad police officers during a public rally the previous year.
During the rally, Imran Khan had issued warnings, stating that he would “not spare” Islamabad’s inspector-general, deputy inspector general, and the female magistrate. He vowed to file cases against them, alleging mistreatment of PTI leader Shahbaz Gill, who was in custody at the time.
Imran Khan, who was ousted from power through a parliamentary vote in April the following year, specifically targeted the sessions judge who had approved Gill’s two-day physical remand at the request of the capital police. He indicated that legal action would be taken against her as well.
The FIR was lodged based on the complaint of Magistrate Ali Javed at Islamabad’s Margalla Police Station under Section 7 of ATA.
In a subsequent attempt to reconcile, Imran Khan appeared before the court of Zeba Chaudhry to apologize. However, he informed the court’s reader to stand witness for his apology as the judge was on leave. Additionally, he submitted an affidavit to the Islamabad High Court (IHC), which was handling a contempt of court case against him for controversial remarks. In the affidavit, he assured that he would “never do anything in the future” that could harm the dignity of any court or the judiciary.
Following his apology in the contempt case, the high court dismissed the terror charges and granted pardon to the PTI chief. The case was subsequently transferred from an anti-terrorism court to a sessions court in December 2022.
