The Supreme Court bench has summoned Senator Faisal Vawda and MQM-P MNA Mustafa Kamal as a three-member apex court bench heard a suo motu case taken on the independent lawmaker’s anti-judiciary rhetoric.

On Thursday, the apex court took suo motu notice of Vawda’s press conference where he questioned the Islamabad High Court (IHC) judges’ claim that intelligence agencies had interfered in the judicial affairs.

The next day, MNA Kamal also highlighted the judiciary’s alleged shortcomings and called for establishing ethical standards for the judges.

Kamal claimed the judiciary had set “ethical standards” for politicians and the dual citizenship of judges was a “big question mark” and the judiciary should be made answerable on this issue.

At the hearing, CJP Isa asked the additional attorney general whether he had heard the press conference. The chief justice remarked judiciary was a public institution, not his personal, and added that he kept calm despite severe criticism against him.

The “character assassination” of the courts should not happen, CJP Isa said and added that the institution does not want to “clash” with anyone.

He remarked that the judiciary would not accept criticism against the institution as he mentioned the two press conferences addressed by Vawda and Kamal.

The CJP wondered whether the press conference was defamatory, to which, the additional attorney general replied that the one he heard was “muted”.

According to CJP, many things were said against him but he ignored them. CJP Isa stated that he would not allow the witch-hunting of the institution.

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He clarified that he would never defend those who advocate martial law. He said that other judges should not be punished if he has done anything wrong.

According to him, the person who raises weapons was the “weakest” and the second-most weakest person was those who use abusive language.

He also mentioned the claims of the former Rawalpindi commissioner. He stressed the need for constructive criticism rather than “shouting and staging drama”.