ISLAMABAD: Senator Mohammad Ali Saif of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement on Monday filed a contempt of court petition in the Supreme Court against Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan for accusing a sitting SC judge of approaching him at the height of his confrontation with the government during the Islamabad lockdown last year.

The petition alleged that Mr Khan had in his interview aired by a private television channel on July 27 said that during the course of their agitation against Nawaz Sharif and his government in the wake of the Panama Papers leaks, he had been asked by the SC judge to approach him against the government. It said the PTI chief had repeated the same allegation while addressing a public gathering in Islamabad on July 30.

Mr Khan’s statements in the interview as well as at the public gathering on Sunday were an attempt to malign, scandalise and tarnish the image, integrity and reputation of the judiciary in general and the judges in particular, the petition argued.

It said the grave act of Mr Khan had endangered the integrity of the Supreme Court and, therefore, he should be proceeded against under Article 204 of the Constitution dealing with contempt of court.

Meanwhile, in a Twitter message on Sunday, Mr Khan clarified that he was referring to the comments of Justice Asif Saeed Khosa who, during the proceedings in the open court, had stated that the SC was a supreme forum to resolve conflicts. “A deliberate attempt is being made to distort what I said in the interview,” he tweeted.

Barrister Saif named Imran Khan, Pakistan Electronic Regulatory Authority chairman Absar Alam and ARY Digital chairman Salman Iqbal as respondents in the petition.

Published in Dawn, August 1st, 2017