Accountability Court judge bars Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi from issuing statements against state institutions & officials

ISLAMABAD, April 25 (SABAH): An accountability court in Islamabad barred on Thursday PTI founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi from issuing statements against state institutions and officials.

During the hearing of a petition seeking a fair trial, Judge Nasir Javed Rana ordered the PTI founder and his spouse from speaking against state institutions in the courtroom.

According to the order, the PTI chief made provocative political statements against senior officials of state institutions, including the army, the judiciary and the army chief. The order added that such statements disrupt judicial decorum and also obstruct judicial functions such as the dispensation of justice.

The order further stated that during the jail trial of the PTI founder, the media will limit its reporting to court proceedings and not report statements of the accused.

In its order, the court also instructed the prosecution, the accused and their defence counsels to not make political or inflammatory statements which may disrupt the decorum of the court.

Media was also ordered to refrain from publishing political and inflammatory narratives targeting state institutions and officials and was asked to adhere to PEMRA guidelines which prohibit discussing ongoing cases.

Earlier, the former prime minister asserted that premeditated rigging marred the by-polls in Punjab, accusing the Punjab Police of indulging in rigging.

“Democracy hinges on the supremacy of law and the conduct of free and fair elections, yet what we witnessed was jungle law. The interference of the police in the Punjab by-elections is deeply concerning,” he remarked during a media interaction at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail.

Imran Khan highlighted that by-polls were also conducted in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, where the PTI-backed Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) is ruling, affirming that no instances of rigging transpired in the province.

“There exists no semblance of democracy in the nation presently. The rigging was a preemptive move, driven by fear of the events that unfolded on February 8. The postponement of the [general] elections from October to February was a deliberate tactic to suppress the PTI. Even our petition in the Supreme Court remained unheard, as it awaited the demise of the PTI,” he elaborated.

Imran Khan lamented that myriad tactics were deployed ahead of the general elections to besmirch the reputation of the PTI, resulting in the conversion of a majority vote into a minority.

The former prime minister also deplored the lack of constitutional governance within the country, asserting that only the influential wield power.