Pak court bans airing of anti- judiciary speeches by PM Abbasi, Nawaz

Anti- judiciary content to be removed from electronic media in 15 days

Lahore, April 16: The Lahore high court ( LHC) on Monday placed a temporary ban on the airing of anti- judiciary speeches by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, former Premier Nawaz Sharif and daughter Maryam Nawaz and 14 other lawmakers, the Express News reported.

A full bench headed by Justice Mazahir Ali Akbar Naqvi and comprising Justice Masood Jahangir and Justice Atir Mahmoud resumed hearing of 27 miscellaneous contempt petitions against those accused of making anti- judiciary remarks.

LHC has referred the petitions to the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority ( Pemra) and gave the regulatory body 15 days to remove anti- judiciary content in addition to deciding on the petitions filed.

The high court also has directed all concerned authorities to ensure no contemptuous speech is broadcast on any TV channel in the next 15 days. The judiciary will also monitor content on TV to ensure no violations occur.

During court proceedings, the regulatory authority was slammed for dismissing petitions highlighting anti- judiciary remarks. Petitioner’s counsel Advocate Azhar Siddiqui informed the court that PEMRA did not take any action over petitions filed regarding antijudiciary speeches. “My job is to bring anti- judiciary remarks on record,” said Siddiqui.

LHC summons Pemra official in Nawaz contempt case

Justice Naqvi remarked that while Article 19 of the Constitution allowed fair criticism of judiciary, not every person should be allowed to criticise it just for the sake of exercising their right to criticise. He added that it made sense for a lawyer or an expert to dwell on judicial verdicts but not every other person. Drawing attention to Article 68, Justice Naqvi said it even prevented the Parliament from criticising the judiciary and its decisions. “A person dissatisfied at a verdict should file a review petition,” he added.