ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Saqib Nisar has taken suo motu notice of the Lahore High Court’s (LHC) decision banning the transmission of anti-judiciary speeches by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and other leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League-N.
A three-member bench is expected to hear the case later today, for which notices have been sent to Nawaz, Maryam and the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) while the record of the LHC order has also been sought.
While taking notice, Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed observed that the LHC decision was misinterpreted on media as the written order was not perused by anyone. He also criticised that those talking about the judgment should first learn English.
The court also directed the attorney general, who appeared in court, to find out when Nawaz and Maryam are available so they or their counsels can appear for the hearing.
Justice Saeed remarked that it is important for Nawaz and Maryam to be represented in the hearing.
A day earlier, LHC gave the decision on over two dozen petitions filed against ‘anti-judiciary’ speeches by Nawaz, Maryam, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and other party leaders.
The court ordered PEMRA to decide on the petitions in 15 days and until that time refrain from airing any contemptuous remarks by the respondents.
Justice Mazahir Ali Naqvi, who headed the three-member full bench, also ruled that the court will personally monitor PEMRA’s conduct in the next two weeks to see how it implements the court’s order.
More than a dozen petitions had been filed in the LHC contending that the PML-N leadership had been making derogatory speeches against Supreme Court judges since the verdict of Nawaz’s disqualification in the Panama Papers case last year.
