Another politician’s voice surfaces on the audio, which is one more attempt at political scoring.
After Asif Zardari, Maryam Nawaz, Shaukat Tarin, and Imran Khan, it is Chaudhry Parvez Elahi’s turn to clear his name from a purported audio leak reported to be his. Authentic or not, most of these audio leaks have ended up in court, and the same fate most probably awaits the latest one. One of the audio clip cases is the one related to Shaukat Tarin. The former finance minister has been booked by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in a sedition case for allegedly trying to derail a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). And this case came about as a result of various audio leaks of Mr. Tarin.
There is the cipher audio leak in which Imran Khan is talking to his principal secretary about the cipher issue. This case too landed in court. Then there was another clip in which PML-Q MNAs Hussain Elahi and Chaudhry Wajahat Hussain are talking about kidnapping a parliamentarian.
In reaction, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah urged the Supreme Court chief justice and National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf to “take notice”. In the latest audio leaks allegedly of Chaudhry Parvez Elahi, Mr. Sananullah is at it again, addressing a press conference and playing the clips. He calls on the judiciary to take steps to “prevent an irreparable loss to its credibility”.
In one of the audio leaks, PML-Q leader Chaudhry Parvez Elahi can purportedly be heard telling a man to get a case against his former principal secretary Mohammad Khan Bhatti fixed before a sitting Supreme Court judge. Mr. Elahi also calls the judge “very audacious”.
In another audio clip, supposedly of Mr. Elahi, he tells another man that a specific case had to be fixed for hearing before the Supreme Court judge. In the third clip, the former chief minister was talking to the judge he wanted the case to be fixed before. In the press conference, Mr. Sanaullah said that he had directed the FIA to register a case against Mr. Elahi and arrest him after authenticating the audio.
The interior minister said the matter could be sent to the chief justice or the Supreme Judicial Council. Reacting to the allegation, Mr. Elahi did not deny or confirm the audio leak but said that he had not said anything wrong in the clip and that the conversation had been taped and “misrepresented”.
The lawyer in the audio has, however, dismissed it and termed it “concocted”. Audio leaks have become the latest weapon to hit out at political opponents and civil servants. These clips make rounds on social media and are used to tarnish the image of politicians and people associated with various institutions.
But in all of this, where does privacy come from? Nothing is private anymore. Our conversations are being heard and recorded, which in itself is a crime. Yes, we need to monitor those indulging in anti-state activities, but other than that is it permissible? Recording conversations and videos have far-reaching effects. One must not forget Mohammad Zubair’s case. It’s not just one person here, it’s his whole family getting affected. Ever heard of the word morality?
