The federal government established a three-member judicial commission under the direction of Senior Puisne Judge Justice Qazi Faez Isa of the Supreme Court to investigate the validity of audio leaks and their effects on the independence of the court.
The decision was finalized on Friday during a meeting of the federal cabinet. Chief Justices Naeem Akhtar Afghan of the Balochistan High Court and Aamer Farooq of the Islamabad High Court are both members of the commission.
The commission was established by Section 3 of the Inquiry Commission Act 2017, which states that “whenever it is expedient to conduct an inquiry into any definite matter of public importance, the Federal Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, constitute a Commission of Inquiry by the provisions of this Act”.
The commission will look into the validity of the audio leaks and how they may have affected the judiciary’s independence.
Usually, the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) is asked by the government to suggest a judge for the creation of the commission. A senior government official, however, contends that the law makes no mention of obtaining the CJP’s approval.
Five audio leaks have been discovered, five of which center on the CJP family. The higher bars have also lodged a complaint against a specific SC judge over the audio leak of a conversation he had with a former chief minister.
