ISLAMABAD, May 27: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Muhammad Ali Durrani on Sunday requested the Supreme Court to take notice of what he called violation of its instructions during the Supreme Court Bar Association seminar held in the auditorium of the apex court on May 26.

“During the seminar, the Supreme Court instructions were badly violated. The SC building was used for political objectives and derogatory language was used against various constitutional institutions and even against former judges of the superior judiciary,” he said.

“Political speeches were made and political slogans were raised within the SC premises and even inside the SC auditorium. While outside the Supreme Court building, political slogans were raised under political party flags and huge TV screens were erected for live coverage of the seminar,” he added.

“These clear-cut violations were conducted in breach of the Supreme Court instructions, which is not only unfortunate but also condemnable,” he said. Mr Durrani said: “The Supreme Court should take notice of such violations which were committed by the participants of the seminar and speakers of the seminar.

“This all was made in violations of the conditional permission granted by the SC authorities,” he added.Mr Durrani was addressing a press conference along with Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Tariq Azeem at the PID Media Centre.

Mr Durrani said the violations were part of an attempt to pressurise the superior judiciary. “We urge the judiciary, intellectuals, general public and media to rise to the occasion and play their due role for safeguarding the judiciary,” he added.

Senator Tariq Azeem said that the Supreme Court had issued guidelines for lawyers and media and it had asked all of them to follow the instructions.

“The SC had not allowed sloganeering and political speeches within its premises or at the judge’s gate. But during the SCBA seminar on May 26, political slogans were raised and interviews were conducted within the SC premises.”

He said whenever the Chief Justice went to address members of different bar associations, his ‘political minders’ staged political shows for the address.

“The political minders of Chief Justice Chaudhry have badly damaged his neutral status as there is not a single precedence of a chief justice of the Supreme Court addressing political gatherings,” he said.—APP