Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial on Tuesday asked if the government had utilised its resources to trace those behind recording and leaking audios of conversations.
According to the details, the CJP made the remarks as a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court (SC) resumed hearing pleas challenging the formation of a judicial commission led by Justice Qazi Faez Isa to probe audio leaks.
Along with the CJP, the bench also comprises Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi and Justice Shahid Waheed.
Read more: CJP responds strongly to objections over his inclusion in audio leaks bench
“How and where are the audio leaks emerging from? Who is behind this?” Justice Bandial asked as the apex court took up a set of four petitions challenging the constitution of the audio leaks commission.
وفاقی حکومت اسی لیے اس معاملے کو انجام تک پہنچانا چاہتی ہے، اٹارنی جنرل
سوال یہ ہے کہ آڈیوز کس نے پلانٹ کی ہیں، کیا حکومت نے یہ معلوم کرنے کی کوشش کی کہ یہ ریکارڈ کون کر رہا ہے، چیف جسٹس
حکومت کمیشن کے ذریعے اس معاملے کو بھی دیکھے گی، اٹارنی جنرل
— Aamir Saeed Abbasi (@AmirSaeedAbbasi) June 6, 2023
Justice Akhtar also took exception to Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah’s press conference on audio leak allegedly featuring a top judge’s family.
“Is the federal government not aware whether the audio leaks are authentic or not?” Justice Akhtar asked. “Senior cabinet members even held press conferences on the leaks … is it not true that the interior minister held a press conference?
“Some audios were even played in the press conference,” the judge noted. “Is it lawful for someone, who doesn’t know about the truth of the audio leaks, to raise objections to the bench?”
“Why did the interior minister hold the press conference? Can such carelessness be shown?” he went on to ask. “After such a statement, the minister should have been removed or resigned.”
Last week, the government had filed an appeal in the apex court seeking the reconstitution of the bench hearing the case. The government asked CJP Bandial, Justice Ahsan, and Justice Akhtar to distance themselves from the bench since “rules of natural justice” demanded that the “adjudicator should be impartial”.
Read more: Govt. objects to SC bench hearing audio leaks commission case