LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Friday convicted four people, including a former MNA belonging to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), of holding an anti-judiciary rally in Kasur and sentenced them to one month in prison, besides imposing a fine of Rs100,000 each.

Police arrested former MNA Waseem Akhtar, former vice chairman of a union council Ahmad Latif, Nasir Khan and Jamil Khan from the courtroom immediately after the announcement of the verdict by a three-judge bench headed by Justice Syed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi and comprising Justice Atir Mahmood and Justice Chaudhry Masood Jahangir.

The bench exonerated former PML-N MPA Naeem Safdar and former municipal chairman Ayaz Khan from the contempt proceedings.

LHC gives Ahsan Iqbal time to amend his reply to contempt of court charges

On his way to jail, Mr Akhtar told journalists that he would file an appeal against the conviction. Since the conviction also entails disqualification for five years, he said his son would contest the upcoming election in his place.

Kasur District Bar Association President Mirza Naseem and others had filed petitions contending that the protest rally taken out by the then legislators and local government leaders of the PML-N was a planned conspiracy against the institution of judiciary.

The petitioners said the act of the respondents amounted to committing the contempt of court and they were all liable to be punished under the law. They had requested the court to also declare the respondents disqualified, besides initiating the contempt proceedings against them.

All the convicts had denied charges against them and also tendered their unconditional apology.

The Kasur police had registered a case against more than 100 people and nominated 80 of them after the former PML-N lawmakers and local government leaders had in April held a rally against the Supreme Court’s verdict of disqualifying former prime minister Nawaz Sharif for lifetime.

The protesters used abusive language against the judiciary and judges.

The LHC bench allowed time to former interior minister Ahsan Iqbal to make necessary amendments to his reply to the charges of committing the contempt of court by delivering an objectionable speech against Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar.

Mr Iqbal along with his counsel Azam Nazir Tarar appeared before the bench and submitted his written reply. However, the bench rejected the reply on the grounds that the former minister sought an apology from the court but did not use the word “apology” in his reply.

Advocate Tarar requested the bench to allow more time to make necessary changes to the reply. The bench allowed the request and adjourned the hearing till July 2.

Published in Dawn, June 30th, 2018