ISLAMABAD: Former chief justice (CJP) Saqib Nisar and his son Najam will be summoned by a special committee probing the purported audio of the latter with a prospective candidate seeking Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) ticket.
This was stated by an MNA from Balochistan, Aslam Bhootani, who is the chairman of the committee constituted to investigate the audio.
The audio tape surfaced on April 29 in which Najam could be heard demanding a reward for a job done for an enthusiast seeking PTI ticket for upcoming general elections in Punjab.
In the audio, Najam can be heard informing the person on the other end that his father had worked very hard to get the job done. The man on the other side, presumed to be PTI ticket hopeful Abuzar Chaddhar, said he would come to meet Najam’s father after getting the ticket.
Najam can also be heard asking Chaddhar to meet his father the same day.
Meanwhile, in conversation with another caller, identified as Mian Uzair, Najam can be heard asking for delivery of the goods, not less than 120.
Subsequently, the National Assembly adopted a motion empowering the speaker to constitute a committee to probe the audio clip. The National Assembly Secretariat issued a circular on May 2 notifying formation of a 10-member committee.
Bhootani, a former FIA officer, and elected from the Gwadar-Lasbela NA-272 constituency as an independent candidate, deserted PTI-led coalition last year and voted against Imran Khan in no-confidence motion, was named chairman of the committee.
Talking to a private news channel on Sunday night, Bhootani said the investigation could not move forward if ex-CJP, his son and the person being heard in the audio leak did not come forward and record their statements.
Bhootani claimed that if ex-CJP Nisar come forward, the committee would conduct forensic analysis of the audio to prove his innocence.
The MNA from Balochistan said the special committee would hold its first meeting on May 9 to set Terms of References and take a decision whom to summon.
He claimed that the committee would end the immoral practice of using money for elections. This trend weakened democracy and not any political party, he added.
When asked what action would be taken if the ex-CJP did not appear before the special committee, Bhootani had no clear strategy in his mind except making lame excuse that thy were trying to help the former top judge clear his image.
He said he had called the law and interior ministers and FIA cyber wing to ascertain the veracity of the audio tape.
When asked about a probe into the other audio leaks, Bhootani said the committee would investigate if the National Assembly speaker gave them the mandate to do so. For now, this committee has only been given a mandate to probe these two.
