The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday rejected a petition seeking a ban on the airing of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s speeches.
The IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah announced the reserved verdict.
An IHC bench reserved the verdict on the maintainability of the writ petition after an initial hearing. The petitioner cited the PML-N supreme leader, opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) chairman and others as respondents.
The four-page detailed ruling observed that there was an alternate forum for the redressal of these issues. The IHC further observed that the petitioner could not satisfy the court regarding which of his rights were being affected by the airing of speeches.
The petition was moved by Advocate Shah Jahan Khan.
He stated in his petition that Nawaz Sharif peddled negative propaganda against state institutions through his speeches, undermining their sanctity.
October 1, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) barred TV channels from airing speeches of the absconding accused and proclaim offenders.
