The Supreme Court prohibits the audio leaks investigating committee from continuing its work.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Following the ruling made on the petitions submitted by Imran Khan and others, the Supreme Court suspended the functioning of the audio leaks probe committee on Friday.

The five-member Supreme Court panel, led by Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial, gave the ruling, with Justices Ijazul Ahsan, Muneeb Akhtar, Shahid Waheed, and Hasan Azhar Rizvi announcing the verdict that had been reserved previously.

The Supreme Court’s decision, which essentially halts the panel’s work, raises concerns about the commission’s future course of action in investigating the purported audio leaks, since the commission has been entrusted with establishing the truth behind the leaked recordings.

Proceedings of the Supreme Court

On Friday, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial commented on how the government may utilise Supreme Court justices to further its interests.

The chief justice made the remark as a five-member bench led by him and comprised of Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Syed Hassan Azhar Rizvi, and Justice Shahid Waheed heard petitions challenging the government’s inquiry commission formed to investigate audio leaks involving judges and politicians.

Dr. Babar Awan is representing PTI Chairman Imran Khan in court, along with Supreme Court Bar Association President Abid Zuberi, Secretary Muqtadar Akhtar, petitioner Riaz Hanif Rahi, and Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan.

The AGP objected to the creation of the enlarged bench from the start of the hearing. “How can the government pick Supreme Court judges to serve its interests?” said the CJP.

An irate chief judge said that it was an issue of judicial independence, adding, “Enough has been done, you may sit down.” He said that the government could not appoint any judge of its choosing to a bench. “If you had asked for advice, we would have given it to you,” the CJP remarked.

At one point, the AGP requested that the chief justice recuse himself from the bench. The top justice responded that he appreciated his request, but that the judiciary did not come within the purview of the federal government. He said that the government should not meddle in judicial proceedings since “we also respect the government.”

According to Supreme Court Bar Association lawyer Shoaib Shaheen, it is required to speak with the chief justice before bringing in any sitting judge, as the top court has said in previous judgements in other circumstances.

“I am sorry to say that the government has attempted to create differences among the judges,” the top justice said. The CJP raised an issue when noticing that “phone tapping is an unconstitutional activity” since it is not indicated in the constitution of the judicial commission who performed the phone tapping in the first place.

After hearing the arguments, the bench withheld the judgement, noting that a suitable order will be issued today.

A three-person inquiry commission

Previously, the federal government appointed a three-member investigation panel to look into the leaked audios reportedly involving the judiciary, previous chief justices, and a judge, claiming that the talks raised concerns about the impartiality of judges.

The commission is led by Supreme Court Justice Qazi Faez Isa, and its members include Balochistan High Court Chief Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Aamer Farooq.

PTI chief’s request

The PTI’s Imran Khan filed a complaint with the Supreme Court against the panel. He asked the Supreme Court to declare the commission null and unconstitutional in his constitutional appeal. Mr Khan argued that no judge could be nominated to the judicial panel without the authorization of Pakistan’s Chief Justice.

He said that the Supreme Judicial Council was the right place for any investigation or action against a judge. Imran Khan filed the case with the help of his lawyer, Babar Awan.

The federal government turned over the supposed audio recordings to the inquiry committee a day ago for comprehensive investigation.

The commission made substantial headway in its inquiry and acquired audio recordings from the government, along with transcripts legally signed by an approved authority.

According to sources acquainted with the situation, the panel received eight audio recordings for review. Furthermore, the names, positions, and contact information of those engaged in these recordings had been supplied.