MQM chief Altaf Hussain media blackout case reached a deadlock after counsel for the party refused to apologise for criticising the bench’s decision to ban coverage of the party leader in media.
The petitioner’s counsel made allegations against Advocate Asma Jahangir, stating that she had spoken contemptuously about matter on television.
Advocates Azhar Siddique and Aftab Virk played a recording of said remarks in front of the court, for which Ms Jahangir orally apologised. Justice Syed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, who heads the bench, asked for a written apology, which she refused to submit, claiming that the only reason she apologised verbally was “out of respect for the dignity of the institution (judiciary).” When the bench resumed the session after half an hour, Justice Naqvi berated Ms Jehangir for her repeated refusal.
“You have double standards… You are committing contempt of court and you should submit an apology in writing.”
The heated dialogue provoked a chanting match.
Sources close to Ms Jahangir have claimed she would request the chief justice of the LHC to transfer the case to another judge, “as the best possible way out of this situation”.
