The Supreme Court on Friday issued show-cause notices to independent Senator Faisal Vawda and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan lawmaker Mustafa Kamal over separate press conferences criticizing judges of the Islamabad High Court (IHC).
In its order, a three-member bench led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa and comprising Justices Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Irfan Saadat Khan directed both lawmakers to appear before it at the next hearing on June 5.
A day earlier, the CJP had taken suo motu notice of Vawda’s press conference, wherein he criticized IHC judges, particularly Justice Babar Sattar, over a letter alleging meddling in judicial affairs by intelligence agencies. He specifically pointed to Justice Sattar’s U.S. green card, arguing it was “unfair” for judges to be allowed to retain dual citizenships when lawmakers could not do so. He also warned that if judges continued to allege interference without proof, they could be paid in kind.
Also on Thursday, Kamal addressed a separate press conference during which he demanded the implementation of dual citizenship law for all institutions. While he was not the subject of the suo motu notice, he was brought up during the hearing and made part of it.
During today’s hearing, Additional Attorney General for Pakistan Aamir Rehman appeared before the bench with the CJP asking him if he had watched Vawda’s press conference and considered it derogatory toward judges. The AAG responded he had watched the press conference but it had some words muted that could have been derogatory.
The CJP remarked that anyone guilty of an offense should be identified, adding the targeting of entire institutions was unacceptable. “Institutions belong to the people and defaming them is not a service to the country,” he observed and directed the AAG to read the Constitution’s provisions regarding freedom of expression and contempt of court.
Observing that the press conference appeared aimed at achieving a specific purpose, he emphasized that no one would be permitted to harm institutions. He noted that Kamal held a similar press conference a day after Vawda, questioning why they addressed the media when they could have made the same speeches in Parliament. Issuing notices to both politicians, the court also sought the video recording and transcript of both press conferences.
“PEMRA should also present the details of the questions asked in the press conferences and their answers,” read the order.
Over the past month, there has been a sustained social media campaign against Justice Sattar over his possessing a green card to the U.S., with the IHC public relations officer offering a clarification maintaining the judge had never had any nationality other than that of Pakistan. In a subsequent response to Vawda, the IHC registrar said maintaining dual citizenship or residency did not disqualify any judge under the Constitution.