Lahore High Court orders not to air anti-judiciary speeches of Nawaz, Mariam, other PMLN leaders

The Lahore High Court has directed Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) to monitor “anti-judiciary speeches” and dispose of complaints filed against ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and other leaders of the PML-N.

The order came on Monday in response to petitions accusing the PML-N founder leader and his daughter of targeting judiciary in their speeches.

The court ordered the PEMRA to decide pending petitions within 15 days, directing the authority to refrain from airing any contemptuous remarks till that span is over. Moreover, the electronic media regulator was also instructed to remove anti-judiciary content.

The three-member bench of the LHC was headed by Justice Syed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, and comprising Justice Atir Mahmood and Justice Chaudhry Masood Jahangir.

Advocate Azhar Siddiq, a counsel for complainant, argued that contemptuous speeches of Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz being aired by news channels are a contempt of court.

However, the court 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.

Nawaz’s counsel AK Dogar raised objections to the inclusion of Justice Naqvi in the bench arguing that the judge authored the order against Nawaz Sharif. The petitioner added that the remarks caused stress to his client after which he expects no fair treatment at the hands of Justice Naqvi.