ISLAMABAD:

The Supreme Court of Pakistan has snubbed both the ruling political party Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz and the opposition party Pakistan Tehreek e Insaaf over the issue of the media statements regarding the supreme court case.

The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Thursday asked the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf to not use the court’s proceedings to project their political views.

A three-judge bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar was hearing PML-N leader Hanif Abbasi’s plea for disqualification of Imran Khan and Jahangir Tareen when it observed that “sanity of court proceedings be maintained as it’s important for the institution”. “The SC is a sacred place,” the bench observed.

Justice Umar Ata Bandial said the counsels for parties can address the media regarding court proceedings but the same should not be done by people who have political interests. “Judges should not be maligned through media talks,” he added.

Earlier, Akram Sheikh, the counsel for Abbasi, told the bench that in compliance with the court’s verbal order, the petitioner did not talk to media men. However, PTI leaders addressed media persons within the SC premises, the counsel said.

Later, the counsel submitted five formulations on the basis of which he sought disqualification of the PTI chief.