Pakistan’s judges are using their contempt of court powers to muzzle the media from airing their independent views critical of the judiciary, Human Rights Watch has said.
Since Pakistan’s independent judiciary was restored to office in 2009, Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and provincial high courts have repeatedly sought to prevent media criticism of the judiciary through threats of contempt of court proceedings, which can bring prison terms, the New York-based watch group said.
It said since October 2012, the high courts in Islamabad and Lahore have issued orders to stop the broadcast of television programs critical of the judiciary.
“Judges sworn to uphold the rule of law should not be using their broad contempt powers to muzzle criticism by the media,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
“Judges have no special immunity from criticism. Unless they want to be seen as instruments of coercion and censorship, they should immediately revoke these curbs on free expression.”
The human rights watch group comments come in the wake of a spate of court orders that seek to limit the media’s free expression rights.
Judge Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui of the Islamabad High Court issued a restraining order to the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) to stop airing criticism of the judiciary on television.
On November 20, the court maintained the stay order preventing the airing of critical programming and demanded a progress report from PEMRA on a television show broadcast on October 26 on ARY, a private channel, which criticised the conduct of Supreme Court Chief Justice Chaudhry.
Another judge Nasir Saeed Sheikh of the Lahore High Court issued a stay order on October 16 against the airing of “anti-judiciary” programming on television.
HRW quoted journalists as saying that major television stations and newspapers were informally advised by judicial authorities that they would be summoned to face contempt of court charges for criticising or commenting unfavourably on judicial decisions or specific judges.
Keywords: Pakistan judiciary, contempt of court powers, muzzle media, airing independent views, critical of judiciary, Human Rights Watch
Comments:
Criticism: If it is not for the sake of criticism, than there should
not be an issue. Keeping the respect of the institution at all levels,
a positive criticism should be allowed. As thats where, we find our
weaknesses, all of us. And when I quote, institution it is not limited
to SC, it is Army, NA, Senate, and all organizations.
I will quote plenty of cases of one single journalist against
Musharraf, which in the court he could not prove justified. At that,
court should have penalized him for making allegations to Ex president
or who ever, and that will be a counted as cleaning of in-competent
journalists we all have in country.
No one should be above law: and what ever the law is. we should
consider every one to respect it. Either it is Arsalan Iftikhar or
General Mirza Aslam Baig. Law should be equal for every one. we should
not said, Why General is facing FIA, and not Arsalan Iftikhar.
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