SC Asks Media To Show Restraint While Commenting On Panama Case

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 07th Nov, 2016 ) : The Supreme Court on Monday asked the media to show restraint while commenting on the Panama papers case as the matter was subjudice in the apex court.

Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali while heading a five-member bench constituted to hear the case, observed that some anchors on different news channels were discussing the case with legal experts, interpreting the matter according to their own understanding and personal whims.

If decisions were to be announced by those anchors then what role the courts were left with to play, he remarked. Senior Advocate Hamid Khan, who represented Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), said the court should issue appropriate orders to restrain media from commenting on the case.

On this, the Chief Justice observed that if the court passed an order restraining the media then it would be meant as curb on freedom of expression whereas in civilized nations media acted responsibily on their own.

He asked the media to show responsibility and avoid matters that could damage the interests of nation and country. The courts did not issue orders on every matter in civilized societies, he added. Justice Asif Saeed remarked that the apex court was not a press club as all the parties were holding press conferences in its premises.