A court in Islamabad has ‘barred’ Jailed former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, from making public statements that criticize or defame state institutions and officials.
According to a report by The Express Tribune, Judge Basir Javed Rana ordered the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder and his spouse from speaking against state institutions, including the army, judiciary and the army chief, in the courtroom, during the hearing of a petition seeking a fair trial.
Additionally, the court instructed the media to refrain from publishing “politically provocative statements that target state institutions and their officials”.
“Such statements disrupt judicial decorum and also obstruct judicial functions such as the dispensation of justice,” the order added.
The court order also directed the prosecution, the accused, and their defence lawyers to avoid making political or inflammatory statements that could undermine the court’s decorum.
Earlier this week, Imran Khan accused the country’s Army Chief General Asim Munir of being directly responsible for the imprisonment of his wife, Bushra Bibi.
“If anything happens to my wife, I will not leave Asim Munir, I will not leave Asim Munir as long as I am alive. I will expose his unconstitutional and illegal steps,” he threatened.
Imran Khan, who served as Prime Minister from 2018 to 2022, is currently in jail facing several cases, including a 14-year sentence for him and his wife for unlawful sale of state gifts.
Khan was first imprisoned after being handed a three-year prison sentence in August 2023 by the Election Commission for not declaring assets earned from selling gifts worth more than PKR 140 million rupees (USD 501,000) in state possession and received during his premiership.
In January, Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were handed 14-year jail terms following a separate investigation by the country’s top anti-graft body into the same charges involving state gifts.
Bushra Bibi, 49, has been convicted in a corruption case as well as in the case of an illegal marriage with the former PM. Currently, she is detained at their Bani Gala residence in the suburbs of Islamabad.
Source: Mint
