The Islamabad High Court has issued a written order suspending the summons of former Chief Justice Saqib Nisar’s son in the audio leaks case. Justice Babar Sattar, of the Islamabad High Court, released a 7-page written order in response to the matter.
In the written order, the court sought assistance from the Attorney General regarding the recordings and audio leaks of telephone conversations involving the general public. The Supreme Court has also directed the Federation, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Defense, and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to be parties to the petition.
Notices have been issued by the Islamabad High Court to all concerned parties, including the Secretary of the National Assembly, directing them to provide detailed replies.
The written order of the court appoints Aitzaz Ahsan, Makhdoom Ali Khan, Mian Raza Rabbani, and Mohsin Shahnawaz Ranjha as judicial assistants in the case.
While respecting the Parliament, the Islamabad High Court stated in its written order that it was not suspending the notification of the special committee. However, it did suspend the summons issued to the petitioner, Najamul Thaqib, until May 25.
The court raised several crucial questions in its written order, including whether the constitution and law allow surveillance and secret recording of citizens’ calls, the authority or agency responsible for phone recordings and mechanisms, safeguards to ensure confidentiality and prevent misuse, and the responsibility for releasing illegally recorded calls.
The written order also questioned whether Parliament can inquire into the private matters of individuals and whether the Speaker has the authority to establish a special committee to investigate the leaking of private conversations.
It is important to note that the Islamabad High Court, in a previous ruling, had halted the actions of the special committee established by Parliament to investigate the alleged audio leaks involving former Chief Justice Saqib Nisar’s son and a PTI ticket holder. The court has suspended the summons notice before Al-Thaqib’s committee until further notice.
