Contempt of court case: What’s your party leadership up to, LHC asks Ahsan Iqbal

LAHORE: A full bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC) Monday expressed its annoyance at Pakistan Muslim League-N behaviour, asking former interior minister Ahsan Iqbal what his party leadership was up to.

“If a verdict is pronounced in your favour, then the judiciary is alright; otherwise, it is wrong.

“You tell us, which other party has made contemptuous remarks against judiciary?” Justice Atir Mahmood asked the PML-N leader.

The three-member bench deferred contempt of court proceedings against Ahsan Iqbal till Sept 5, observing that the court would examine his conduct during this period and decision regarding dropping of contempt notice would be taken afterwards. The bench, led by Justice Syed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, was hearing a petition, filed against Ahsan Iqbal, for delivering an anti-judiciary speech, targeting Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar.

The bench remarked that Ahsan Iqbal sought an apology in the court and later on became a “jiyala” of a leader, who had already launched a tirade against the judiciary. “Being a political worker, you should exercise more restraint than commoners,” the bench told the former minister. “You have praised yourself [more than concentrating on an apology] in your response,” the bench told ex-minister.

“Outside the court, you give statements that your party is being targeted. On the one hand, you say you won’t make such statements, but outside the court you repeat earlier statements,” the bench remarked. Justice Atir Mahmood remarked that Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) faced various excesses. But how many (contemptuous) statements were issued by them, asked the LHC judge.

He observed that after 20 days (elections), everyone would come to know bitter realities of life. The judge remarked that former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi appeared before the court earlier, and the verdict in his case was made on merit.

Last week, Ahsan Iqbal had tendered an unconditional apology in the LHC during the hearing of the contempt case. To which, Justice Naqvi had remarked “your detailed answer does not contain the words required for an apology”. The court had allowed him to make necessary amendments to his reply to the contempt of court charges.

At the outset of the hearing on Monday, Ahsan Iqbal’s lawyer Azam Nazir Tarar requested the court to drop the contempt proceedings against his client as he had tendered an unconditional apology. The court, however, rejected the request and questioned whether the former interior minister had accepted his mistake.

The court then postponed the proceedings until after elections, till Sept 5, saying his conduct would be monitored before discharging the contempt notice.

The petition, filed against Ahsan Iqbal and other PML-N leaders, stated that he (Ahsan) and Nawaz Sharif used derogatory language against the Supreme Court judges on April 25 and 23, respectively, and the same was aired by TV channels.