Imran barred from speaking against institutions
ISLAMABAD: An accountability court Islamabad judge has barred Pakistan Tehreek-e-insaf (PTI) founder chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi from issuing statements against state institutions and officials.
During the hearing of a petition seeking a fair trial, Judge Basir Javed Rana ordered the two from speaking against state institutions in the courtroom.
The judge’s order said that the PTI chief made provocative political statements against senior officials of state institutions, including the army, the judiciary and the army chief.
It added that such statements disrupt judicial decorum and also obstruct judicial functions such as the dispensation of justice.
The order further stated that during the jail trial of the PTI founder, the media will limit its reporting to court proceedings and not report statements of the accused.
In its order, the court also instructed the prosecution, the accused and their defence counsels to not make political or inflammatory statements which may disrupt the decorum of the court.
Media was ordered to refrain from publishing political and inflammatory narratives targeting state institutions and officials and was asked to adhere to Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) guidelines which prohibit discussing ongoing cases.
Earlier, the former prime minister said that premeditated rigging marred the recent bypolls in Punjab, accusing the Punjab police of indulging in this crime.
“Democracy hinges on the supremacy of law and the conduct of free and fair elections, yet what we witnessed was jungle law. The interference of the police in the Punjab byelections is deeply concerning,” he remarked during a media interaction at the Adiala Jail Rawalpindi.
He said that by-polls in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) affirmed that no instances of rigging transpired in the province.
“There exists no semblance of democracy in the nation presently. The rigging was a preemptive move, driven by fear of the events that unfolded on Feb.8. The postponement of the general elections from October to February was a deliberate tactic to suppress the PTI. Even our petition in the Supreme Court remained unheard, as it awaited the demise of the PTI,” he elaborated.