The Supreme Court of Pakistan (SC) on Monday suspended the orders of the Islamabad High Court and restrained it from proceeding further on an appeal moved by the federal government regarding the audio leaks case involving former First Lady Bushra Bibi and former Chief Justice Saqib Nisar’s son Najam Saqib.
A SC division bench headed by Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan passed the order.
The top court also accepted the government’s appeal and issued notices to Najam Saqib and Bushra Bibi in the case.
At the outset of the hearing, Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan asked whether the high court had determined who was recording the audio.
In response, the Additional Attorney General said that this has not yet been determined, and the investigation is underway.
Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan remarked that, unfortunately, no one in this country seemed to want to uncover the truth.
The judge also remarked that “an inquiry commission was established to find the truth, but it was stayed by the Supreme Court. The audio leaks case has not been scheduled again in the Supreme Court to date. When Parliament tried to uncover the truth, it was also stopped. If neither parliament nor the courts are allowed to function, how will the truth ever come to light?”.
Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan then asked whether the possibility had been considered that the person involved in the conversation might have leaked the audio themselves, noting that today, every mobile phone has a recording system.
The court remarked that the Islamabad High Court cannot proceed with the audio leaks case. The orders issued by the Islamabad High Court on May 29 and June 25 exceeded its authority, as the High Court does not have the power to take suo motu notice.
The top court also summoned records of the audio leaks case from the federal government.
