Pakistan’s ex-prime minister Imran Khan refuses to apologise in contempt case

Former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan, centre, arrives at Islamabad High Court (WK Yousafzai/AP)

Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan has appeared in court and refused to formally apologise in a case in which he faces contempt charges over his verbal threat to a female judge during a political rally last month.

Under Pakistani law, Khan’s appearance was a chance offered by the Islamabad High Court for the ousted prime minister to avoid going to trial — which an apology would have averted. But Khan declined, insisting he had made no threats, in turn prompting the court to schedule the first hearing for September 22.