IHC adjourns petition seeking contempt proceedings against Sharif

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday adjourned a petition seeking initiation of contempt of court proceedings against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif for maligning the judiciary in his public speeches.

A single bench comprising Justice Amir Farooq observed that a similar case was pending in the Lahore High Court and therefore adjourned the hearing till Feb 26.

Makhdoom Niaz submitted that the former premier has been heaping scorn on the judiciary since his disqualification at the hands of the Supreme Court, which constituted contempt of court.

The petitioner requested that the court should initiate contempt of court proceedings against Sharif.

On Monday, the Lahore High Court issued a notice to Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) to submit comments, explaining the measures it has taken to stop the airing of anti-judiciary speeches by PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif.

A bench of the high court was hearing a petition seeking contempt of court proceedings against the former prime minister and his daughter Maryam Nawaz for indulging in criticism of the judiciary.

It issued notices to them and other official respondents to submit their comments on the petition by February 23.

The bench directed Pemra to depute its representative to apprise the court of the measures the regulatory body had taken to stop TV channels from airing remarks slandering the judiciary.

The petitioner submitted that Sharif and his daughter had been severely criticizing the judiciary in their public speeches. At the recent public meeting in Lodhran, the father-daughter duo again turned their guns on the judiciary, he added.

He complained that the regulatory body had failed to take any action to stop the airing of anti-judiciary speeches despite the high court orders.

The petitioner pleaded with the court to initiate contempt of court proceedings against the PML-N chief and his daughter.