A full bench of the Lahore High Court has delayed until April 18 the hearing of a petition since the counsel of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement Chief wants more time to present his arguments in the case. The court has also adjourned a contempt petition against Altaf Hussein's Counsel, Asma Jehangir, as she sought time to present a written response over her alleged remarks against judges.
On Monday, the three-judge bench hearing the petitions seeking the registration of a high treason case against Altaf Hussein for his anti-state speeches. His counsel refused to offer a written-apology over what had said about members of the full bench. The petitioners' Counsels, Azhar Siddique and Aftab Virk, told the bench that their counterpart had used a contemptuous language against judges following an order banning the coverage of Altaf Hussein's activities in both electronic and print media. They said she had criticised a sub-justice matter in a television programme.
When the bench told Counsel Jehangir about her statement, she verbally apologised but when the latter was asked to offer her apology in writing, she said, "I don't like to write what I don't accept from my heart. I am apologising not for the judges holding the bench but for the sanctity of the institution ([the judiciary]."
Altaf Hussein's media coverage came on September 7, 2015.