SC’s May 25 order: IK denies saying jammer made communication impossible

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan informed the Supreme Court that he has not claimed that jamming made communication, regarding SC May 25 order, impossible.

The former prime minister on Thursday filed an application to place a document issued by the Chief Minister’s Secretariat, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa dated May 25.

The application, filed through Advocate on Record Riffaqat Hussain Shah stated, that the said document is with respect to the presence of a mobile jamming device as part of the motorcade of the chief minister KP, who accompanied Imran Khan during the afternoon and evening of 25th May.

He submitted that the primary issue relevant for the question of commission or otherwise of contempt is the verbal order of the Court whether the ex-PM had been duly informed of the contents, scope and effect of the said order at the relevant time.

He stated that neither Babar Awan nor Faisal Fareed Chaudhry had been appointed/instructed to appear on behalf of the PTI chief. They were the two individuals who could have adequately and reliably informed Imran of the verbal order passed by the SC bench on May 25 at 06:05 pm.

He stated the Court in its 25th May order had required the Secretary Interior, IGP Islamabad, IGP Punjab and deputy commissioner Attock to facilitate a meeting of the designated PTI leadership in Islamabad, which included Babar Awan, with Imran Khan and the safe return to Islamabad with the top leadership so as to be able to meet with the government-appointed committee by 10:00 pm. This direction of the Court was flagrantly disregarded by the concerned officials.

The cavalcade of Imran Khan was subjected to unprovoked violence and shelling upon entry into the province of Punjab. Consequently, the ex-PM and his colleagues were in a situation of extreme stress.

It was in these stressful circumstances that Imran Khan could not gain information of the verbal order of the Court of 06:05 pm through political activists who, in turn, could gain access to social media platforms by avoiding the effect of jamming.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022