A petition has been filed in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) seeking a probe into the audio leak allegedly involving former chief justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar and other allegations against the judiciary through the formation of a commission, Geo News reported Saturday.
The law secretary and secretaries of all the four provinces — Punjab, Balochistan, Sindh, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — have been made parties in the case.
Sindh High Court Bar Association (SHCBA) President Salahuddin Ahmed and member judicial commission Syed Haider Imam Rizvi are the two individuals to have moved the court.
In the petition, Ahmed and Rizvi said after the audio leak, a perception was created that the judiciary appears to operate "under pressure from external powers". Therefore, it is crucial to determine whether the audiotape is authentic or not.
"The audiotape has damaged the judiciary's integrity and raised important questions over the judiciary's independence. It is important to revive the people's trust in an independent and non-partisan judiciary," the plea said.
The plea said that an independent commission, comprising well-respected retired judges, lawyers, journalists, and civil society members, should be set up to probe allegations against the judiciary as well as the leaked audiotape.
The leak
Last week, an audiotape allegedly featuring Nisar was leaked in which the ex-CJP purportedly told another person that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz would have to be punished to make space for Prime Minister Imran Khan in politics.
Nisar, soon after the audio clip was released, denied its authenticity.
In the audio clip, he could allegedly be heard saying that even though there are no cases against Maryam Nawaz, she would still have to be punished.