Supreme Court stays IHC order in audio leaks case

The Supreme Court of Pakistan has stayed the orders of the Islamabad High Court in the audio leak case involving Bushra Bibi, wife of PTI founder Imran Khan, and Najam Saqib, son of former Chief Justice Saqib Nisar.

The court also restrained the Supreme Court from further proceedings in the matter and stayed the surveillance order in the country. The court noted that the surveillance order was effective only for one hearing.

Judge Aminuddin noted during the hearing: “It is possible that the persons involved in the audio recordings may have leaked them themselves. Was this aspect taken into account? Nowadays, every mobile phone has a recording system.”

A two-judge bench of the Supreme Court, comprising Justice Aminuddin and Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan, heard the federal government’s petition regarding the audio leaks.
During the hearing, the Supreme Court said that the Islamabad High Court could not pursue the audio leak case any further. It held that the High Court's orders of May 29 and June 25 exceeded its jurisdiction and stated that the High Court had no power to take cognizance on its own initiative.

At the request of the federal government, the Supreme Court requested the files of the audio leaks case and issued summons to Bushra Bibi and Najam Saqib.
Justice Aminuddin Khan asked whether the Supreme Court had ascertained who made the audio recording.