They called on the superior judges to remain unfettered and not get swayed by criticism by PTI leaders and supporters on social media, and believe that the judiciary should not give the impression that this criticism is affecting them, as per a report by Express Tribune.
Previously, it was reported that former chief justice Saqib Nisar had met PTI chairperson and former prime minister Imran Khan at his residence in Zaman Park on Wednesday. The ex CJ had reportedly appealed to Imran Khan to put an end to the social media campaign being waged by his supporters, which Khan had allegedly denied.
On Friday, Chief Justice Athar Minallah had issued a statement during the hearing of a petition filed against the alleged harassment of anchorperson Ashraf Sharif, and said that the courts will open even at 3 AM if the constitution is under threat.
His remarks were in response to criticisms being faced by the judiciary regarding the courts decision to open at midnight on April 9, the night of the successful no-confidence vote against Khan. He had said, "The courts had been opened to protect basic rights. Do you want the courts should not open when there is an urgent matter?"
The PTI had also claimed the ouster of their government, and the subsequent opening of the courts was the result of a 'foreign conspiracy' where the military, judiciary and the opposition had been 'bought' to oppose them.
However, the army categorically rejected this claim. The Director-General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Babar Iftikhar said "Are courts under the army? Our courts are free and if something happened at the courts, it was their own action."