The Supreme Court on Monday asked for the record of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Faisal Raza Abidi’s press conference in which he called for the resignation of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.
The CJ sought the footage of the press briefing to see whether it came under contempt of court or not. Abidi on Sunday held a press conference at the National Press Club in Islamabad and accused the CJ of acquitting a terrorist who allegedly killed 100 people. He also said he would soon table a bill against the judges who had taken oath under the Provisional Constitution Order (PCO).
A petition was filed in the Supreme Court, seeking the initiation contempt of court proceedings against Senator Abidi over his press conference. The petition also named the PEMRA chairman and a private TV anchor as respondents. Petitioner Tariq Asad pleaded the court that strict action should be taken against the parties involved under the Contempt of Court Law. He said criticism of the chief justice could not be termed justified.
The petition said the private TV channel failed to take precautionary measures in this regard. Meanwhile, TV channels reported that following the serving of a show-cause notice on Abidi by the PPP, the ruling party decided to throw him out of the PPP core committee, with the PM saying he did not endorse Abidi’s views regarding the CJ. The PPP leadership also announced a ban on Abidi’s entry to the Presidency, some channels claimed.
In a brief chat with reporters, the PM also said that Abidi was not the PPP’s official spokesman and did not represent the government or the ruling party. However, Abidi told ARY News that the party had only issued him a show-cause notice and he would respond to it. He denied that he had been barred from visiting the Presidency or that he had been struck off from the party’s core committee. “I’m a member of the PPP and will remain so until my last breath…I met President Zardari just three days ago,” he said.
Speaking in the same program, President’s Spokesman Farhatullah Babar said no notifications are issued regarding permission or restriction on anyone visiting the Presidency. He also said that the core committee was not a formal body so no notifications are issued regarding induction or removal of members from the committee.
SC takes notice of Abidi’s rant
