Veteran journalist Matiullah Jan has claimed that Session Judge Zafar Iqbal acted out of ‘immense mental pressure’ when he allowed Imran Khan’s presence to be marked in his vehicle on Saturday.

As clashes between the police and PTI supproters raged on outside, Matiullah said that the judge’s body language betrayed that he was mentally a ‘hostage’ and said that the order given by Judge Iqbal made it appear as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

Matiullah Jan made the statement in Faisal Aap Ka with Asma Shirazi on Aaj News on Monday as he described the atmosphere of Imran Khan’s hearing in the Toshakahana case.

He described that when a tall and well-built policeman burst into the courtroom and said that he had suffered a fracture in his leg and lost conciousness, it could only have one effect on the court. The judge, Jan said, looked around and found that only one policeman was there to guard him. This led to a realisation in the judge’s mind that if Imran Khan made it into the court with his crowd, there would be no one to save him.

The journalist said that Imran Khan’s strategy of creating a confrontation that led to him being excused after only his attendance was marked was unjustified. He also said Imran Khan had a ‘phobia’ that he would be murdered inside the court which made no sense.

He questioned why Imran had travelled all the way from Lahore to Islamabad if he was certain he would be killed. He said that judicial murders had occurred in Pakistan’s past, like that of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, but someone’s claim that they will be murdered in a courtroom is just absurd.

He also questioned why Imran’s lawyers had not told the court that there was a threat to his life.

The journalist said that Imran Khan’s murder accusations only amounted to an attempt to avoid facing the court, because if he had appeared in court the next step would be indictment.