'Five-member HC bench to try Imran Khan for contempt proceedings': Report

ISLAMABAD: A five-judge bench of the Islamabad High Court will hear the contempt case against Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan for his controversial remarks threatening a female judge during a rally here, a media report said on Sunday.

The bench - headed by Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Athar Minallah - comprises Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, and Justice Babar Sattar, the Dawn newspaper reported.

Initially, the case was heard by a three-member bench.

The court, however, forwarded the matter to the IHC Chief Justice seeking the inclusion of more judges on the bench, the report said.

The IHC on Tuesday issued a show-cause notice to Pakistan Tehreek-e-insaf (PTI) chairman Khan and summoned him in his personal capacity on August 31 in contempt proceedings for threatening the district and sessions court judge Zeba Chaudhry.

At a rally here in F-9 Park on August 20, Khan threatened to file cases against Islamabad's inspector general of police and deputy inspector general of police and declared: "We won't spare you."

He then warned the judiciary for its "biased" attitude towards his party, saying that it should brace itself for the consequences.

The PTI chairman also warned additional district and sessions judge Chaudhry, who had approved the two-day physical remand of Khan's aide Shahbaz Gill on the request of the Islamabad Police, that she would also face dire consequences.

Gill was arrested a fortnight ago on charges of sedition.

The show-cause notice to Khan mentioned that the statement was made in a sub judice matter to get 'favourable' verdict and prima facie, this act was tantamount to obstructing the course of justice and due process and undermining public confidence in the court of law.

According to the newspaper, prima facie Khan committed "criminal as well as judicial contempt, punishable under section 5 of the Contempt of Court Ordinance, 2003".

"These remarks have been made with the motive of bringing the administration of law into disrepute and eroding the integrity and credibility of the judicial system," it added.

Khan, 69, was booked under Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act (punishment for acts of terrorism), according to the copy of the first information report.

The case was registered at the Margalla Police Station of Islamabad.

Khan, the cricketer-turned-politician, has been targeting powerful institutions, including the powerful Pakistan Army, since his government was toppled in April.

Over 100 people have been booked under terrorism charges in Pakistan's Sindh province after they attacked police personnel, pelted stones and damaged public properties during a visit by Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto to a flood-hit area.

Prime Minister Sharif along with Foreign Minister Bhutto, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and other ministers on Friday visited Sukkur district to assess the flood situation and interacted with displaced families in relief camps.

During their visit to a relief camp, rain-affected families from different areas blocked some roads against the administration's failure to drain out stagnant rainwater.

According to a police spokesperson, when officials were discharging their duty outside the camp, some rioters, including women, blocked the main road, creating a law and order situation and inciting the flood-affected families against the officials.

"While the Prime Minister and others were meeting affected families in the relief tents, some people kept on inciting others to attack them and also attacked and damaged public properties and also mishandled police personnel who tried to stop them," the spokesperson said.

He claimed that some people instigated the rain-affected families from different areas to also block some roads against the administration's failure to drain out stagnant rainwater.

He claimed that the mob also smashed the windshields of vehicles as a result of which traffic flow remained suspended for eight hours.

"We have lodged a case under Anti-Terrorism Act against the miscreants," the spokesperson said, adding action would be taken against them as per law as soon as they were identified in CCTV camera footage and other videos showing them creating a law and order situation.

Deaths from widespread flooding in Pakistan topped 1,000 since mid-June.

Flash flooding from the heavy rains has washed away villages and crops as soldiers and rescue workers evacuated stranded residents to the safety of relief camps and provided food to thousands of displaced Pakistanis.

Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority reported the death toll since the monsoon season began earlier than normal this year - in mid- June - reached 1,033 people after new fatalities were reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and southern Sindh provinces.