After Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan questioned the powers of the commission to investigate the audio leaks related to the judiciary, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah confirmed that the judicial body was allowed to tap and leak calls. There will be authority to investigate the persons involved in doing so.
A day earlier, Khan had pointed to a “deliberate omission” in the commission’s terms of reference to demand accountability of those behind the surveillance.
On Saturday, the minister said, “The commission headed by Justice Qazi Faiz Isa will have the power to investigate who is recording audio tapes and who is leaking them. Is.”
During the show, the interior tsar spoke about the decision of the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led government to form a three-member commission to investigate audio leaks related to the judiciary.
In an announcement made a day earlier, the government announced a high-powered judicial commission headed by senior Supreme Court judge Justice Qazi Faiz Isa, while Chief Justice of Balochistan High Court Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Islamabad High Court (IHC). Chief Justice Aamir Farooq has been named as the members of the judicial body.
“There was pressure on the government from civil society and others to investigate the issue of audio leaks,” the minister said, adding that the government needed material to take the matter to the Supreme Judicial Council.
“Crimes cannot take the cloak of secrecy,” Sanaullah said, warning against using secrecy to commit crimes as revealed in the alleged audio leaks.
Meanwhile, Khan spoke about the commission’s constitution insisting that its terms face “willful neglect” with no accountability for “illegal and unconstitutional oversight.” Who is behind it?”
Taking to his Twitter handle, the cricketer-turned-politician shared a strongly worded tweet in this regard.
“They failed to take into account the issue of who is behind the illegal and unconstitutional surveillance of the Prime Minister’s Office and sitting judges of the Supreme Court. The commission should be empowered to investigate this powerful and Who are the unknown elements who tap and record citizens’ telephone conversations. Including top public workers,” he tweeted.
Khan further termed the leaks as “serious violation of privacy guaranteed under Article 14 of the Constitution”.
The Federal Government has formed Inquiry Commission under Section 3 of the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 2017 to investigate into the issue of Audio Leaks. However, the Terms of Reference formed by the Federal Government suffer from a deliberate omission. They fail to take into…
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) May 20, 2023
The ousted prime minister, who was ousted by a no-confidence motion in April last year, demanded accountability of all those involved in the entire audio leaks process.
Khan’s tweet read, “Not only those who illegally obtain data through phone tapping and surveillance should be held accountable, but also those who leak various phone calls on social media by faking and tampering. do, they should also be held accountable.”
The PTI chief further shared his views on the violation of privacy, saying that democracies governed by the rule of law suggest that the state should not arbitrarily interfere in certain aspects of life.
“The right to privacy and dignity guaranteed under Article 14 is flagrantly violated whenever the state unlawfully monitors an individual,” he wrote on Twitter.
The former prime minister also questioned the “safe phone line” in the prime minister’s office.
“Some of the recently leaked calls were made on what was supposed to be a secure phone line in the Prime Minister’s office. However, they were illegally tapped and taken with them,” he said. Fabricated/tampered with,” he said, adding that there are elements behind such “brave tapping”. Acting in this manner without the command and even knowledge of the Prime Minister of Pakistan.”
Khan questioned the actors behind the leaks. “Who are these actors who are above the law and even beyond the command of the Prime Minister of the country, and who resort to such illegal surveillance with impunity?” He tweeted and demanded to identify such elements through the commission.
Audio leaks will be investigated.
The Commission will investigate audio leaks between:
- Call between former Punjab chief minister and an advocate regarding a sitting judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
- Call between former Punjab chief minister and an advocate about fixation of some cases before a particular SC bench.
- Call between former Punjab chief minister and a sitting apex court judge.
- Call between former chief justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar and a senior lawyer.
- Call between a lawyer and a journalist on the outcome of a case before a particular SC bench.
- Call between former prime minister Khan and his party colleague about their links in the apex court.
- Call between mother-in-law of CJP Umar Ata Bandial and wife of a lawyer regarding SC cases and conversation about an un-constitutional rule.
- Call between ex-CJP Nisar’s son Najam Saqib and his friend mentioning his father in a political role.
