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ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday accepted the federal authorities’s enchantment in a case associated to audio leaks of Bushra Bibi, partner of PTI founder Imran Khan and Najamul Saqib, son of former chief justice Mian Saqib Nisar and ordered the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to cease proceedings until additional orders.
A two-member bench of the highest court docket comprising Justice Amin-Ud-Din Khan and Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan heard the Centre’s enchantment in opposition to the IHC order within the audio leaks case right this moment.
At the outset of the listening to, Additional Attorney General Amir Rehman apprised the apex court docket that the related authorities had been stopped from telephone tapping in an IHC order issued on May 29.
He additional stated that the intelligence companies have been unable to carry out counterintelligence as a result of IHC’s ruling which additionally restricted the companies from arresting any terrorists.
The authorities’s lawyer stated that the excessive court docket had additionally stopped the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and the Intelligence Bureau (IB) from telephone tapping and name information recording (CDR).
He added that the excessive court docket exceeded its jurisdiction beneath Article 199 of the Constitution in contradiction to the highest court docket’s two verdicts.
It is value mentioning that on May 29, IHC’s Justice Babar Sattar had barred telecom corporations from recording telephone calls and information which disabled the intelligence and regulation enforcement companies’ surveillance in opposition to criminals and terrorists.
After the May 29 ruling, the IHC gave a subsequent verdict on the Islamabad police’s plea on June 25 by which the court docket allowed the telecom corporations to share suspects’ information with the police for post-crime probe, nonetheless, it restricted the mobile companies from facilitating LEAs with surveillance.
The two-member bench remarked that the apex court docket reviewed the IHC’s May 29 order which was not prolonged within the recent proceedings, due to this fact, the highest court docket was not suspending the stated ruling.
Justice Amin additional questioned whether or not the excessive court docket ascertained the establishment concerned in name recordings. To this, the extra legal professional normal replied that it couldn’t be ascertained to date and an investigation was underway.
Justice Naeem remarked that it was unlucky to witness that nobody wished to know the reality concerning the nation. He went on to say that an inquiry fee was constituted to establish the reality however a keep order was issued by the highest court docket.
The jurist additional noticed that the highest court docket has not but mounted the listening to of the audio leaks’ case, once more. The parliament tried to know the reality nevertheless it was additionally stopped from pursuing the matter, he added.
Justice Naeem questioned how the reality would come forth if the parliament and the court docket have been stopped from doing their work.
Justice Amin remarked that it could possibly be doable that the people within the name recording have been concerned in leaking the audio dialog as each cell phone has a recording system. He questioned whether or not the probe was carried out on this facet.
Later, the SC bench issued notices to the events within the case moreover suspending the excessive court docket’s June 25 order and ordered the IHC to cease additional proceedings.
The listening to was adjourned for an indefinite interval.
It is pertinent to say right here that the alleged audio leak case includes a name dialog between former first girl and the ex-CJP’s son.
The federal authorities had challenged the IHC order within the Supreme Court final month, as per The News report.
The federal authorities, by Additional Attorney General Anis Muhammad Shahzad, filed an enchantment beneath Article 185(3) of the Constitution in opposition to the order dated June 25, 2024, handed by an IHC single bench.
It prayed to the apex court docket to grant depart to enchantment in opposition to the impugned order dated 25-06-2024 by the IHC and put aside the stated order.
In its petition, the Centre made Najam — an Advocate High Court — as respondent moreover making the federation of Pakistan by the Secretary, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs Division, Speaker, National Assembly, Special Committee, appointed by Speaker, Assistant Director/Secretary Committee, at National Assembly Secretariat and others as Proforma respondents.
The federal authorities submitted that an alleged audio dialog of Respondent No 1 together with his mates concerning managing occasion ticket for contesting the election of the provincial meeting seat in opposition to sure financial consideration grew to become viral on social media together with the digital media.
Upon changing into the alleged audio leaks viral and dialogue thereon within the National Assembly, the NA speaker took discover of the identical and constituted a particular committee vide circulation dated 02-05-2023 to audit, inquire and examine the petitioner’s alleged audio leaks, it submitted.
