Deputy Attorney General Khurshid Khan has been given notice by the apex court’s bar association to explain why action should not be taken against him for “defaming” the nation by polishing shoes while performing voluntary service at gurdwaras in India.

The show cause notice was issued to Khan on Saturday by Supreme Court Bar Association at the Peshawar High Court. Khan has said that he performed voluntary service at gurdwaras, including cleaning shoes, during a recent visit to India as “penance for crimes committed by the Taliban”.

SCBA president Yasin Azad was quoted saying that Khan had “defamed” Pakistan by polishing shoes outside places of worship in India. Khan said he was yet to receive the notice and was prepared with a reply. He added that since he was the Deputy Attorney General, the Attorney General should have issued the notice. “Have I been charged for violating an Indian law? There was no code of conduct we were told to follow.”

Khan noted that he was declared a state guest by the chief minister of Punjab and that his mission was to convey a better image of Pakistanis in general and Pashtuns in particular. “What is constituted as defaming the country: Ajmal Kasab’s alleged killing of Indians or a Pakistani polishing the shoes of Hindus, Sikhs and Christians outside their places of worship?” he asked. PTI.