Contempt of court: PHC exempts federal law minister from court appearance

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Wednesday exempted federal minister for law from personally appearing at the next hearings but issued notices to two other cabinet members for speaking at a press conference after the verdict of the special court that awarded death sentence to former President General (Retd) Pervez Musharraf.

Federal Minister for Law Farogh Naseem on Wednesday appeared before the divisional bench comprising Justice Roohul Amin and Justice Nasir Mahfooz and regretted his statement. He told the bench that he respected the court and the judges. The court exempted him from personally appearing before the court at the next hearings. However, two other cabinet members Firdous Ashiq Awan and Shahzad Akbar were issued notices to appear before the court at the next hearing.

The division bench directed that those, who committed contempt of court, should appear before the court after which their lawyers would be heard. Malik Mohammad Ajmal Advocate and Azizuddin Kakakhel Advocate had filed a writ petition in the PHC that Federal Minister for Law Farogh Naseem, Fawad Chaudhry, Firdous Ashiq Awan and Shahzad Akbar had spoken at a press conference after the verdict against former military ruler Pervez Musharraf. The petitioners said the cabinet members had committed contempt of court by making remarks about the verdict.