ISLAMABAD: The Rawalpindi bench of Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday disposed of a contempt of court case against secretary general of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), Asad Umar, after he tendered an apology in a contempt of court case against him.
Umar appeared before the court along with his lawyer Faisal Chaudhary.
“Produce your client before the court. Where is he?” Justice Jawad Hassan said to Chaudhry. Upon this, Umar came to the rostrum and apologised to the court for his speech critical of the judiciary.
“My intention was not to target any judge or judiciary. We respect the judiciary and will continue doing so. I apologise if my speech crossed the line,” he said.
“Courts allowed your long march, [but] you levelled allegations against the courts. The problem is not the contempt of court. It is about the accusations against institutions and personalities,” Justice Hassan remarked.
“There was no mentioning of a specific judge in my speech,” Asad Umar replied.
“The court has a video of your speech. Do you remember what you said in that speech? Article 50 and 60 of the Constitution allows the right to democracy. The Constitution allows the right to freedom of speech but not to criticise institutions,” he declared.
The court, subsequently, disposed of the case.
