Pak SC Slaps Lawmakers with Contempt Notices for Smearing Court's Image

Pakistan’s Supreme Court issued contempt notices to parliamentarians Faisal Vawda and Mustafa Kamal for allegedly tarnishing its image. Both had questioned Islamabad High Court judges’ claims of intelligence agency interference in judicial matters and demanded evidence. The court set up a three-member bench led by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa to hear the case. Video recordings and transcripts of their press conferences were requested, and the hearing was adjourned till June 5. The case follows a letter from six IHC judges claiming interference, with Justice Babar Sattar independently confirming these concerns.

Pakistan's Supreme Court on Friday issued contempt notices to two parliamentarians for allegedly tarnishing the image of the top court.

Senator Faisal Vawda, who was recently elected as an independent candidate, and Mustafa Kamal of Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), addressing separate press conferences during the week, questioned the Islamabad High Court (IHC) judges' claim that intelligence agencies had interfered in the judicial affairs and demanded evidence of the involvement of "institutions", a soft word for the premier intelligence agency.

The court, taking suo motu action, set up a three-member bench -- led by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa and other justices Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Irfan Saadat Khan -- to hear the case.

Additional Attorney General (AAG) Aamir Rehman appeared before the court.

The chief justice during the hearing said Vawda and Kamal "took advantage of my neglect and thought that they should also make a speech''.

The court sought the video recordings and transcripts of both politicians' press conferences from the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) and then adjourned the hearing till June 5 after issuing notices to the political leaders.

Both Vawda and Kamal are considered close to the establishment, which reportedly is not happy with the letter written in March by six Islamabad High Court judges to the chief justice about interference in their work by the intelligence agencies.

The top court is currently hearing the case.

Meanwhile, Justice Babar Sattar, who is among the six judges, also wrote a separate letter to IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq about interference in his functions.

Vawda, in his presser, had said it was about time for Justice Sattar to back up his claims about agencies' meddling in judicial matters with solid evidence.

He said if there was any evidence of interference in the judiciary, it must be presented, as the court does not proceed without evidence or proof.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)