Imran submits reply to PHC show cause notice

PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan submitted reply to the show-cause notice issued by the Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Thursday and stated that he cannot even think of criticising the court.
“I assure the court that I have the utmost respect for the courts and that the reporting in newspapers is the result of some misunderstanding,” the PTI chief stated in his written reply to the show cause notice.
On the previous hearing, PHC Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel had served a show-cause notice on the PTI chief. He was asked to explain to the court his statement on a case which was pending in the court.
The PTI chief statement came after the PHC stopped dispute resolution councils (DRCs) across the province from working.In response to the court’s stay order, the PTI chief in his statement issued on May 29 had expressed dismay over the stay order granted by the PHC against the dispute resolution councils.
He was reported to have said that the stay order would deny the poor access to easy dispute resolution and justice. He had reportedly stated that the PTI would struggle to have the PHC stay vacated as early as possible.
In the reply to the court, the PTI chief stated that he had commented on the working of the DRCs which started functioning since January 2014. During this period, he said, the DRCs had decided about 509 minor disputes/claims and the effort was loudly appreciated by the media.
On the other hand, a division bench comprising the chief justice and Justice Haider Ali Khan extended the stay order on restraining the DRCs from working till September 17, next hearing in the case.
The court asked the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Advocate General (AG) Abdul Latif Yousafzai to explain if these DRCs were not parallel courts. The court asked him to explain the legal position of DRCs.