Khan apologises to court

PAKISTAN’S former prime minister Imran Khan apologised for criticising a magistrate, his lawyer said last Thursday (22), likely averting a court case that could have seen him barred from standing for election.

Khan was ousted through a no-confidence vote in April but has been plotting his return, harrying the fragile new coalition government with popular protests calling for early elections.

Last Thursday he appeared at the Islamabad high court, where he risked being indicted for contempt of court if he failed to apologise for his comments that followed the detention of a close aide.

“Everybody should respect the court and that’s what he’s shown today,” his lawyer Faisal Chaudhry said. “If he has crossed a red line, he apologises for that.”

The case is now “most likely to be dropped”, he added.

“Currently, I am fighting a war for real freedom,” Khan told reporters afterwards. “I am not going to fight a war with the judiciary of Pakistan.”

Khan’s lawyers said that the case still remained technically active and that he would submit a formal “affidavit of apology”.

If he were convicted of contempt of court, Pakistan’s constitution could disqualify Khan from holding office for the next five years.

General elections are due by the end of 2023.

The byzantine case against the former leader stems from his remarks over the police detention of aide Shahbaz Gill, who was arrested over comments about the country’s powerful army.

Khan had also faced prosecution in an antiterrorism court over the same remarks, but the case was dropped earlier this month.