Supreme Court stays IHC proceedings in audio leaks case

ISLAMABAD – The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Monday stayed the verdicts of the Islamabad High Court and stayed further proceedings in the case on an appeal filed by the federal government of Pakistan.

Former First Lady Bushra Bibi and Najam Saqib, the son of Pakistan's former Chief Justice, were involved in the audio leak case.

A bench of the Supreme Court headed by Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan heard the case.

The Supreme Court allowed the federal government’s appeal and issued orders to Najam Saqib and Bushra Bibi.

During the proceedings, Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan questioned whether the Islamabad High Court had yet determined who was responsible for recording the leaked audio. The Deputy Attorney General replied that this was not yet clear as the investigation was still ongoing.

Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan expressed concern and observed that there seemed to be little desire in the country to uncover the truth. He pointed out that a commission of inquiry had been set up for this purpose, but it had been stopped by the Supreme Court. He also regretted that despite efforts by the parliament to uncover the truth, these attempts had also been thwarted. “If neither the parliament nor the courts are allowed to do their work, how will the truth come out?” he asked.

Judge Amin-ud-Din Khan then considered the possibility that the person involved in the conversation might have shared the audio data himself, stressing that modern mobile devices have recording capabilities.

The court further observed that the Islamabad High Court did not have the jurisdiction to take up the audio leak case. It stressed that the Supreme Court had exceeded its jurisdiction in its orders of May 29 and June 25 as it did not have the power to issue notices on its own initiative.

The Supreme Court later requested the federal government to provide full records of the audio leak case.