The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has taken decisive action in the ongoing audio leaks case, issuing contempt notices to the director generals of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), as well as the chairman of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA). Each institution has been fined Rs0.5 million for filing ‘malicious’ petitions.
Judge Babar Sattar, presiding over the case, dismissed petitions brought forth by the IB, FIA, and Pemra, deeming them as malicious. In his judgment, he expressed that these petitions were orchestrated by the three agencies in an attempt to exert undue pressure on the judiciary.
The IHC is hearing a case stemming from petitions filed last year by Bushra Bibi, wife of PTI founding chairman Imran Khan, and Najam Saqib, son of former top judge Mian Saqib Nisar, regarding alleged audio leaks.
In response to a petition filed by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) on April 27, arguing that a prior IHC bench had already ruled on a similar case concerning audio leaks, the court underscored the need for the respondents to justify why contempt of court proceedings should not be initiated against the heads of the three institutions.
Furthermore, the court dismissed objection petitions from PTA, FIA, IB, and Pemra, imposing a fine of Rs0.5 million each for their filing of these petitions. It was mandated that the fines be paid by the authorising authority from their own pockets.
In addition to these actions, Justice Sattar issued a comprehensive 40-page judgment on the objection petitions, denouncing them as malicious. The judgment highlighted that the coordinated efforts of FIA, IB, Pemra, and PTA to pressure the judiciary through their petitions were baseless and aimed at disrupting due process.
The judgment further emphasised the court’s commitment to providing a fair hearing on the issue of phone tapping, while also raising concerns about the federal government’s failure to uphold basic constitutional rights of citizens.
