ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani court on Thursday barred jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi from issuing inflammatory statements against state institutions, including the army and officials.
While hearing a petition seeking a fair trial, Justice Baseer Javed Rana of the accountability court in Islamabad also said that the media should limit its reporting to court proceedings and not report the statements of the accused.
According to the order, Khan, founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (party), made provocative political statements against senior officials of state institutions, including the army, judiciary and the army chief, newspaper The Express Tribune reported.
The order said that such statements disrupt judicial decorum and also hinder judicial functions like dispensing justice and further said that during the founder's jail trial, the media will limit its reporting on the court proceedings. And will not report the statements of the accused.
The court, in its order, also directed the prosecution, accused and defense lawyers not to make political or inflammatory statements that might breach the decorum of the court, the newspaper said.The media were also ordered to refrain from publishing political and inflammatory narratives targeting state institutions and officials and were asked to follow PEMRA guidelines prohibiting discussing ongoing cases.
The former Prime Minister accused the Punjab Police of being involved in rigging and said that the by-elections in Punjab were affected due to pre-planned rigging.
“Democracy rests on the supremacy of law and the conduct of free and fair elections, yet what we saw was jungle law. Police interference in Punjab by-elections is extremely worrying,” Khan said during a media interaction at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi.
Khan highlighted that recent by-elections were also held in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, where the backed Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) is taking the decision, confirming that there were no incidents of rigging in the province.“At present democracy does not exist in the country. The rigging was a precautionary measure, motivated by fear of the events that unfolded on 8 February. Postponing the [general] elections from October to February was a deliberate strategy to suppress it. Even our plea in the Supreme Court fell on deaf ears as it awaited his demise,” he explained.
Khan lamented that a myriad of strategies were adopted to tarnish his reputation ahead of the general elections, resulting in the conversion of majority vote into minority.The former prime minister also condemned the lack of constitutional governance within the country and said only influential people wield power, The Express Tribune said.
While hearing a petition seeking a fair trial, Justice Baseer Javed Rana of the accountability court in Islamabad also said that the media should limit its reporting to court proceedings and not report the statements of the accused.
According to the order, Khan, founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (party), made provocative political statements against senior officials of state institutions, including the army, judiciary and the army chief, newspaper The Express Tribune reported.
The order said that such statements disrupt judicial decorum and also hinder judicial functions like dispensing justice and further said that during the founder's jail trial, the media will limit its reporting on the court proceedings. And will not report the statements of the accused.
The court, in its order, also directed the prosecution, accused and defense lawyers not to make political or inflammatory statements that might breach the decorum of the court, the newspaper said.The media were also ordered to refrain from publishing political and inflammatory narratives targeting state institutions and officials and were asked to follow PEMRA guidelines prohibiting discussing ongoing cases.
The former Prime Minister accused the Punjab Police of being involved in rigging and said that the by-elections in Punjab were affected due to pre-planned rigging.
“Democracy rests on the supremacy of law and the conduct of free and fair elections, yet what we saw was jungle law. Police interference in Punjab by-elections is extremely worrying,” Khan said during a media interaction at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi.
Khan highlighted that recent by-elections were also held in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, where the backed Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) is taking the decision, confirming that there were no incidents of rigging in the province.“At present democracy does not exist in the country. The rigging was a precautionary measure, motivated by fear of the events that unfolded on 8 February. Postponing the [general] elections from October to February was a deliberate strategy to suppress it. Even our plea in the Supreme Court fell on deaf ears as it awaited his demise,” he explained.
Khan lamented that a myriad of strategies were adopted to tarnish his reputation ahead of the general elections, resulting in the conversion of majority vote into minority.The former prime minister also condemned the lack of constitutional governance within the country and said only influential people wield power, The Express Tribune said.
