The federal government seems focused on influencing public opinion through the media rather than presenting a solid case on its apprehensions regarding the Panamagate probe in court, Supreme Court judges remarked Tuesday.

Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan — who heads a three-member special bench of the Supreme Court implementing the Panama Papers case verdict — reiterated that the JIT is working on the directives of the SC; therefore, any concerns regarding its functioning should be addressed directly to the court instead of being spread through media.

"The media cannot be blamed for this since institutions provide them with prepared material," he added.

He clarified that the court wants its proceedings to reach the people, not rumours, adding that: "there is no point in circulating baseless information in media".

Lending his voice on the issue, Justice Azmat Saeed commented that if one was to go by the day's newspapers, it would appear that the Attorney General's services were no longer required.

"The media seems to have already handed out the verdict on channels and newspapers," he remarked. "Reports suggest that the government is getting [such reports] published itself."

"[Nonetheless,] media reports cannot influence the court and we know what needs to be done," he continued.

"We are not as immature as to not understand what is happening here," he concluded.

Justice Afzal also reiterated that the respondents (the Sharif family) could not be given months to submit their answers, as the JIT had to complete its proceedings in days.

The court postponed the hearing till after the Eid holidays, and said it would fix a date depending on the availability of the members of the bench.