Supreme Court of Pakistan – File Photo

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Monday adjourned the hearing of a suo motu notice of news reports aired by certain private television channels regarding the reversal of the executive order pertaining to the judges’ reinstatement.

During today’s hearing, Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry asked Attorney-General Maulvi Anwarul Haq whether the government wanted to submit the sought reply, to which Anwarul Haq replied in the negative.

Moreover, Justice Javed Iqbal said one television anchor said that the notification’s withdrawal order had been signed by the government.

During today’s proceeding, the Attorney-General submitted a report in the apex court about the apprising of all the government departments of the court’s order of October 15, which held that any move to reverse the judges’ reinstatement order would akin to treason.

In the previous hearing, the Attorney-General had sought more time from the court for the submission of a written reply by the government. The court had directed him to produce a written statement from the government in response to the news reports.

The court’s order also clarified that no government official could withdraw the reinstatement notification. If anything of the sort happens, it would be a serious abrogation of the Constitution and would tantamount to treason, the court maintained.