A full bench of the Lahore High Court constituted to hear petitions against alleged anti-judiciary speeches of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and others was dissolved third time after a member refused to sit in the bench. The full bench headed by Justice Syed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi with Justice Atir Mahmood and Justice Shahid Jamil Khan was scheduled to take up the petitions on Friday. However, the bench stood dissolved before assembling as Justice Shahid Jamil Khan rescued himself from the case citing personal reasons.
LHC Chief Justice Muhammad Yawar Ali reconstituted the bench after replacing Justice Shahid Jamil Khan with Justice Chaudhry Muhammad Masood Jahangir. The new bench would resume hearing on April 9. The petitions moved by civil society members and individuals contend that the former premier Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and other leaders of Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) has been making derogatory speeches against judges of the Supreme Court after disqualification of Nawaz Sharif in Panama case. The petitioners further stated that the Pemra has failed to act as an independent regulator rather became a subordinate body of the government. They prayed the court to direct Pemra to restrain media houses from airing anti-judiciary speeches.