The Islamabad High Court (IHC) reserved its judgment on Friday on a plea seeking investigation into ex-CJP Saqib Nisar’s alleged leaked audio clip.
A petition filed by former president Sindh High Court Bar Association Salahuddin Ahmed, seeking an inquiry commission to be set up to investigate the audio clip was heard by the High Court, during which the Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Khalid Javed Khan opposed the proposition, questioning the narrative that one person’s audio clip had made the entire judiciary appear ‘compromised’.
The AGP asked that “What is the difference between the petitioner and Rana Shamim?” referring to the alleged affidavit of Gilgit-Baltistan’s former chief justice in which he has claimed that ex-CJP Saqib Nisar influenced the case against former premier Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz.
Khan further argued that “no inquiry was ordered when a CJP was attacked, or when a briefcase full of cash was sent to someone”, adding that “the judiciary didn’t appear compromised when a prime minister was hanged”.
The AGP maintained that the message being given through the plea was that “the judge will be summoned to Jeddah, Lahore and will not be left alone even after his death.”
“The argument regarding the entire judiciary being compromised seems to only starts with this case,” the AGP remarked.
He further stated that an investigation into the audio scandal will affect the ongoing case against Rana Shamim and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in the Islamabad High Court.
“The petition should be rejected as it could affect the pending case. The court should not get involved in this matter,” he added.
Chief Justice Athar Minallah, while responding to the AGP’s arguments, remarked that his arguments were alarming.
The AGP asked the court how would it maintain a balance in the case considering that one party claims the audio clip is real while the other denies it, opining that it will be difficult for the court to do so.
“[Journalist] Ahmed Noorani claims the audio clip is authentic on the basis of a forensic analysis while a TV channel showed how the clip appears to have been edited in places [also on the basis of a forensic analysis],” the AGP said.
“Even if a commission is formed, can there be any guarantee that the pending appeal will not be affected?” Khan stated, adding that another reason for the plea to be dismissed was that the petitioner claims he does not possess the original audio.
Addressing the court, petitioner and lawyer Salahuddin Ahmed argued that he “had inquiries been conducted in the Maulvi Tamizuddin case, Bhutto’s judicial assassination, dismissal of a chief justice on the pretext of a briefcase, we would not have had to see this day”.
“If we will keep leaving everything to past judgments, history will continue repeating itself,” Salahuddin said, stating that he considered himself an affectee of the audio clip scandal.
“Whether it is Nawaz Sharif or Allah Rakha, my problem is the role of my chief justice,” the lawyer argued.
To this, the AGP stated that he would like to make a proposal to the petitioner and the SHCBA. “If the petitioner says he will be equally upset if this happens to an Allah Rakha then how about we start with conducting an inquiry into [former CJP] Sajjad Ali Shah’s removal?” Khan said.
The petitioner, responding to the proposal, remarked that the AGP was now suggesting of opening up absolutely old cases.
However, the court maintained that if this “door was opened” for the government then pending cases will be interfered with. It later reserved its judgment on the petition.
The incident
On November 21, 2021, journalist Ahmed Noorani shared an audio clip claiming that the former CJP had directed his subordinates to send Sharifs to jail “as institutions wanted to bring Imran Khan into power”.
The journalist said that a US-based firm has verified that the voice in the leaked audio clip matched with the retired CJP’s. However, the former top judge of the country declared it “fabricated”.
A day later, the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) faced-off over the explosive audio clip of the former chief justice of Pakistan.
As per sources, following the release of the audio, Prime Minister Imran Khan conveyed to his party leaders that they should apprise the people about the PML-N’s past, especially how they had allegedly attacked judiciary and influenced judges to get decisions in their favour in the past. The premier was quoted as saying that the government respects the institutions and stands by them.
On the contrary, PML-N President and the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif said that the former top judge’s audio leak shows how former PM Sharif and his daughter were “targeted” through a grand scheme to keep them out of the political process, adding that justice should now be done.
