ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court on Thursday disposed of the contempt of court petition against PTI Chairman Imran Khan, saying that what the PTI workers had done yesterday on their way to Islamabad was not appropriate, but there was no proof it was done on somebody’s orders.

A five-member larger bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Umar Ata Bandial, heard the petition, in which CJP Bandial remarked that the yesterday’s events had shaken the apex court’s confidence in political parties. “I hope that the PTI will be aware of its responsibilities.

These were only the party workers who were present on the roads while the leaders were absent,” he said, and asked the attorney general of Pakistan (AGP) to convey to the government that it should also act within the parameters of the constitution.

“However, the court will now devise a course of action for the future which will be a guideline for others,” he said. He, on the occasion, inquired from the AGP whether roads had been opened for the traffic; had people been released from prisons, and was the government prepared to reserve a ground for the PTI’s public gathering?

The AGP replied that some of the roads had been opened. He went on to add that the government was ready, but these were the PTI leaders who did not reach the venue reserved for the party’s gathering.

CJP Bandial remarked that the PTI, too, might have reservations over the government’s conduct. “What happened yesterday is now history,” he said, and made it clear that the order the court had given to the government not to arrest the PTI workers and their family members was given in public interest, and that order was still effective.