Aimal Wali Khan, the provincial president of Awami National Party (ANP), has issued a video message to apologize to the Chief Justice of Peshawar High Court, Ibrahim Khan, in a contempt of court case. This comes after he had denied apologizing in court earlier and held a press conference to reiterate his stance.
According to the reports, Aimal Wali Khan had appeared before the Peshawar High Court on Thursday in a contempt of court case filed by a former PTI member of National Assembly. The case was related to his remarks against the judiciary over the attack on Bacha Khan University in 2016.
During the hearing, the Chief Justice addressed Aimal Wali Khan as a young and childlike person and said that he was like his son. He asked him why he had complained about the judiciary and said that men do not complain, only women do. He advised him to stop complaining and come to him if he had any issues. He also said that he could refer the case to a larger bench if he wanted to argue.
Aimal Wali Khan told the court that he respected the judiciary and could not even think of insulting it. He said that he had only filed a case against one party and not against the court. He claimed that the court was conducting a media trial against him.
The Chief Justice remarked that he would tell him about the media trial. He said that his case had been fixed twice but his lawyer did not appear, so the hearing was adjourned. He asked him if he had ever come to him to request for an early hearing. He said that Bacha Khan and Wali Khan were not only his grandfathers but also the grandfathers of everyone. He told him to go and issue a statement in the same manner and retract his remarks. He said that his family had asked him if they should leave Peshawar or not after his statement. He said that he had told his family that he was a Pashtun and so was he.
The Chief Justice then accepted his apology and disposed of the case. However, after leaving the court, Aimal Wali Khan held a press conference and said that he had not apologized in the court. He said that he had only expressed his grievances and that he stood by his words. He said that ANP believed in the philosophy of non-violence for four generations. He instructed the ANP workers to let democracy be democracy.
Later, he released a video message and apologized to the Chief Justice for hurting his feelings. He also apologized for the incident that took place in the court. He said that ANP was a democratic party and respected the judiciary. He said that he had no intention of insulting the judiciary or the Chief Justice.