LAHORE - An application was moved to the Lahore High Court on Saturday against former president Pervez Musharraf for ridiculing the judiciary.

Amna Malik, a member of the Civil Society Network, filed the application  through Advocate Rana Abdullah Khan in an already pending petition against ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz and others.

The applicant also made Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan chief Khadim Hussain Rizvi as respondent in her plea for his statements against the institution of judiciary. She also made Shahid Kamran, a journalist, party in her petition saying that it was his program in which Musharraf ridiculed the judiciary and uttered contemptuous remarks against it.  She said Pakistan Electronic Media and Regulatory Authority failed to fulfill its duty and did not take any action against the contemnors.

Malik said that the contemptuous speeches were continued coming out against the judiciary and judges of the superior courts. She further said ‘Tehrik Labaik’ Khadim Hussain Rizvi chief also used derogatory remarks against the judiciary. She said neither the ministry of Interior and ministry of Justice and Parliamentary affairs nor the legal fraternity or courts took cognizance of the matter and kept their eyes shut on such offensive and abusive remarks by him.  Unfortunately, no action under Article 204 of Constitution of Pakistan or contempt of Court ordinance had been initiated or suggested against him, said the applicant. She also said that Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also made statements about the Judiciary but the petitioners had not considered the same as contemptuous against the courts.  She stated that even in recent public gathering in Lahore the leaders of PTI used words ‘Baba Rahmatey’ for the office of the Chief Justice of Pakistan which could not be accepted by any norms of legal ethics.  A full bench headed by Justice Sayyed Mazhar Ali Akbar Naqvi would hear on Monday (tomorrow) all petitions against contemptuous remarks allegedly said by ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz and other leaders of the PML-N.