FAISALABAD: Amid the political turmoil in the country, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has demanded resignation of Chief Justice to Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial following leakage of an audiotape involving CJP’s mother-in-law and wife of a PTI’s counsel.
PML-N leader Tallal Chaudhry demanded resignation of the CJP, saying “The audiotaple leaked on Sunday could not be ignored.”
Tallal Chaudhry said the leaked audio had strengthened PML-N’s stance that an atmosphere being creating to benefit Imran Khan and some judges had made decisions on the advice of their family members.
The PML’N leader’s demand came after an alleged phone call between CJP Bandial’s mother-in-law and the PTI counsel’s wife was leaked online yesterday.
In the purported audio, the two women can be heard discussing early elections, their support for the chief justice, and their resentment towards the incumbent government.
The two women also talked about their concern for the chief justice amid the ongoing election delay case which is being heard by a three-member bench at the Supreme Court of Pakistan. They also vaguely discussed being in a Lahore rally where there were hundreds of thousands of people.
The bench — headed by CJP Bandial and comprising Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar as members — in its April 4 order, directed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold the polls in Punjab on May 14.
Addressing a news conference here on Monday, Tallal Chaudhry said the apex court’s decisions in violation of the law and the Constitution will not be recognized. “We will accept the decision of the bench which is formed as per the new law,” he added.
“There will be no repeated of the 2017 and 2018 as the political leadership and the parliament are waking up to their duties and will assert their powers,” Talal elaborated.
He said injustices had been done to the PML-N leadership.
Tallal accused Imran Khan of taking the country to the brink of default, people were punished and disqualified through NAB.
A day earlier, Interior Minister and PML-N senior leader Rana Sanaullah had also demanded a forensic audit of the alleged leaked phone call involving the mother-in-law of CJP, and said that the judges mentioned in the audio should step down.
Rana Sanaullah said the CJP should take suo motu notice of the audio leak and order a
forensic of the phone call. “Those involved in the leaked audio must be questioned, and the judges who are being referred to in the audio should show some grace and step down.”
Rana Sanaullah said the purported audio leak is a “matter of concern” for the general public and politicians alike and it must be thoroughly investigated.
Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) Ataullah Tarar shared the audio clip on his Twitter account, saying that he is sure about the deep conspiracy after hearing the audio clip.”The Constitution and law have been trampled for the sake of families. The families of Chief Sahib and two colleagues are trying to bring Imran Niazi to power by holding early elections along with attending rallies,” Tarar tweeted.
Reacting to the alleged audio leak, PTI Senior Vice-President Fawad Chaudhry said his party had repeatedly asked the apex court to “look into the disastrous series of audio leaks” after phone calls of the PM Office and PM House were released in the past. “The Prime Minister’s Office is so insecure that the meeting is being recorded, so who else will be safe?” he said in a tweet.
He added that even after the passage of several months, the application has not been filed in the Supreme Court. “Now, judges, politicians, civil servants and even housewives are victims of this third-class thinking and no one can do anything,” he tweeted.
Fawad, in his tweet, mentioned that “such illegal phone tapping is punishable by up to three years in prison under the fair trial law.”
