The legal woes of Pakistan's ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his family mounted on Wednesday when a top court issued notices to them for allegedly committing contempt of court during a rally in Punjab province last week.

The Lahore High Court issued notices to the federal government, Election Commission of Pakistan and the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) to submit their reply by February 14.

Petitioner Amina Malik told the court that Sharif, his daughter Maryam, son-in-law Capt (retd) Muhammad Safdar, Interior Minister Talal Chaudhry and Punjab law minister Rana Sanaullah verbally attacked the Supreme Court judges on last Saturday's rally in Jaranwala for disqualifying Sharif from the office of prime minister.