NA to protest Supreme Court stay on audio leaks judicial panel

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly will take up the verdict of five-member bench of Supreme Court staying the proceedings and suspending notification of a high-powered judicial commission formed by the federal government to probe the audio leaks related to the judiciary.

The session of the NA will resume tomorrow (Tuesday) and it’s likely that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will also attend it. Members of Parliament are annoyed over the judgment given by the SC bench as it created hindrance in the working of the government and breached the code of conduct of judges.

Highly-placed parliamentary sources told The News here Sunday that the members are considering bringing a resolution to condemn and disapprove the decision of the court.

Attorney General of Pakistan Mansoor Awan will provide legal advice to the government. The sources pointed out that the government was contemplating constituting a special committee to look into the audio leaks and it could ask the federal government to set up a joint investigation team (JIT) comprising senior officials from different agencies to probe the case.

It would submit its report to parliament/committee within the time-frame to be determined by the committee concerned. The members will also discuss the judgment of the court.

The role of Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial would also come under scrutiny who authored the order and, incidentally, the audios of his close family members are subject to the case.

The federal government had constituted the judicial commission to probe the veracity of recent audio leaks and their impact on the independence of the judiciary.

The sources said that Federal Law and Justice Minister Azam Nazir Tarar will take the house into confidence on the formation of the commission and relevant developments. According to sources, the house could witness strong speeches on the subject in the backdrop of tense ties between the two institutions, which are sticking to their respective positions.