PAKISTAN: COURT BARS IMRAN KHAN, WIFE BUSHRA BIBI FROM CRITICISING STATE INSTITUTIONS

Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan and his spouse Bushra Bibi were prohibited by a Pakistani court on Thursday from making offensive remarks about government officials and state institutions, such as the army.

Judge Basir Javed Rana of the Accountability Court in Islamabad stated that the media should restrict its coverage to court proceedings and refrain from publishing statements made by the accused during the hearing of a plea for a fair trial.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party founder Imran Khan allegedly made aggressive political remarks against high ranking officials of state institutions, including the army, the judiciary, and the army chief, according to the order.

According to a report by The Express Tribune, the decision further specified that the media will restrict its coverage to court proceedings during the PTI founder's jail trial and refrain from publishing statements made by the accused. It further claimed that such utterances undermine judicial decorum and impede judicial responsibilities including the administration of justice.

The publication stated that the court's order also directed the prosecution, the accused, and their defense attorneys to refrain from making any politically charged or incendiary remarks that would jeopardize the court's decorum.

The media was also advised to follow PEMRA guidelines, which forbid discussing active cases, and desist from publishing political and provocative narratives that target state institutions and personnel.

The former prime minister claimed that deliberate manipulation tainted the Punjab by-polls, charging the Punjab Police of engaging in manipulation.

“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 by-elections is deeply concerning,” Khan said during a media interaction at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail.

Khan emphasized that the last by-elections were also held in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the province ruled by the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), which is supported by the PTI, and he confirmed that there were no cases of election manipulation in the region.

“There exists no semblance of democracy in the nation presently. The rigging was a pre-emptive move, driven by fear of the events that unfolded on February 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.

Khan regretted that a majority vote had become a minority because a variety of strategies had been used in the run-up to the general elections to damage the PTI's standing.

The former prime minister bemoaned the absence of constitutional governance in the nation, claiming that authority was exclusively vested in the powerful.

2024-04-25T13:47:19Z dg43tfdfdgfd