A resident of the federal capital has moved the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against the airing of a leaked audio clip of a telephonic conversation allegedly between former first lady Bushra Bibi and former focal person on digital media and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Social Media Head Dr Arslan Khalid, a private TV channel reported.
Filed by Arshad Wali, through his counsel Asif Gujjar, the petitioner has demanded that the audio should be forensically verified, take action against those who leaked the clip and restrain television channels from airing such clips in the future. The federal information and interior ministries through their secretaries, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Cyber Crime Wing, the Press Information Department, the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) were listed as respondents in addition to Dr Khalid and Bushra Bibi. Wali in his petition contended that airing the conversation – which was privileged between Dr Khalid and Bushra Bibi, was impacting the international, social, and cultural image as well as the integrity of Pakistan. “The reputation of state institutions has been badly affected and is continuously being affected badly and the people of Pakistan are losing faith in their state institutions which will lead to civil war between people of Pakistan and the state in near future,” the petitioner contended.
