Petition seeking Imran Khan's disqualification filed in Pak court

A petition has been filed in a Pakistani court seeking disqualification of Prime Minister Imran Khan for his "anti-judiciary" remarks on the departure of his political rival and former premier Nawaz Sharif to London for treatment.

Tahir Maqsood, a Pakistani citizen, filed the petition in the Lahore High Court on Saturday, seeking contempt of court proceedings against Khan for bringing the judiciary into disrepute.

The petitioner said the prime minister criticised senior judges of the Supreme Court which amounts to contempt of court.

He said the Supreme Court in 2013 had already issued a contempt notice to Khan for his anti-judiciary rants.

Referring conviction of PML-N leaders Talal Chaudhry and Nehal Hashmi by the Supreme Court for their anti-judiciary speeches, the petitioner requested the court to summon Khan in person, disqualify him and order the Election Commission to de-notify him as member of the National Assembly.

Khan recently criticised the Lahore High Court for overruling his government's condition for 69-year-old Sharif to submit a Rs 700 crore indemnity bond for permission to fly abroad for treatment and asked Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa and his successor to "restore the public's trust in the judiciary."