Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan will stand disqualified for five years if convicted till the rising of the court by the IHC on October 3, former attorney general pakistan (AGP) Irfan Qadir said on Thursday.
He made the remarks in flagship Naya Daur TV show Khabar Say Aagay. The former AGP said the case had not concluded with Khan’s apology. He said Khan would be convicted on October 3. If delivered till the rising of the court, Qadir said, Khan would stand disqualified for five years. He said Khan must be punished less the proceedings started reeking of favouritism. Khan could stand disqualified for life, on the other hand, if convicted in the Toshakhana case, he said.
PTI chairman Imran Khan’s call for a long march is the final nail in the coffin of his politics, veteran journalist Matiullah Jan said. Jan said today’s proceedings did not bode well for the IHC’s reputation. He said it had been decided in the earlier hearing that Khan would be indicted today and he would present a written apology. What exactly transpired, he asked, that Khan was given an opportunity to deliver a speech wherein he did not even present an unqualified apology. Jan said Thursday’s proceedings had left him rattled. If he was guilty of contempt of course, the journalist quipped, why was Khan repeatedly being presented with opportunities to apologise.
He said if Khan did mount a long march, it was worth wondering who this would be against. Jan said this would constitute a national first given how a politician would undertake such an initiative against the appointment of the COAS.
Khan’s lawyer Ahmed Pansota said the case was close to conclusion following Thursday’s proceedings. He said he considered the PTI chairman’s statement an unqualified apology. Pansota said Khan had been advised to do so and then present his stance.
Flagship Naya Daur TV show Khabar Say Aagay broadcasts Monday to Friday on 9pm.
