IHC summons news channel bureau chief regarding campaign against judiciary.

ISLAMABAD -- The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday summoned the bureau chief of ARY news channel regarding an 'organized campaign' against the judiciary.

Chief Justice Athar Minallah, who heard journalist Arshad Shairf's case, also appointed IHC Journalists Association and former president of Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) as amicus curiae.

The chief justice, in his written order, also extended its stay order over any action by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) against Arshad Sharif.

Petitioner's lawyer Faisal Chaudhry told the court that his client could manage to attend today's proceeding due to the court's interference.

Referring to a programme of anchorperson Kashif Abbasi, the court asked the lawyer whether he had watched that programme, in which much was said about the judiciary without any verification. They tried to damage the public trust in the judiciary, he added.

The chief justice remarked that the court would open even at 3 a.m. if there were a matter related to the Constitution or any marginalized segment of the society. Whether any order issued by the apex court had affected anybody, he questioned.

A narrative was being built against the judiciary, but the court would not allow violation of the Constitution, he observed.

The petitioner's lawyer argued that only those who had conducted the programme could answer in the matter.

The chief justice asked whether they wanted the court not to hear emergency matters.

Addressing ARY's reporter present in the courtroom, the chief justice asked whether he...