IHC withdraws contempt of court notice against Awan, Sarwar, accepts apology

They had criticised judiciary’s decision of granting former premier Nawaz Sharif bail on medical grounds

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday withdrew contempt of court notice against Special Adviser to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Information and Broadcasting Firdous Ashiq Awan and Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan while accepting their apology.

Awan and Sarwar appeared before the IHC where IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah demanded their unconditional apology.

“You [Awan and Sarwar] hold important public offices and represent the cabinet,” said Justice Minallah. “The court expects that no remarks would be passed on sub judice matters, on any level in the future. The court is ignoring your act.”



Earlier, the two ministers had criticised judiciary’s decision of granting former premier Nawaz Sharif bail on medical grounds.

Justice Minallah stressed that making such statements would make people lose their faith in state institutions.

“The court had no doubt that both of you had committed contempt,” he said. “No one is perfect. The country is going through political instability and that should not affect the judiciary as it is already facing a lot of challenges. People are looking towards government and parliament for relief.”