Hearing on Saqib Nisar's alleged audio clip: "Suppose the audio is also correct, then who has the original clip?"
Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Athar Minallah remarked at the hearing of the petition filed by former Chief Justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar for the Commission of Inquiry into the alleged audio, saying that if it is assumed that the audio is correct then the original Who has the clip?
''The Islamabad High Court, headed by Chief Justice Athar Minallah, heard a petition filed by former Chief Justice Saqib Nisar seeking formation of a commission to probe the alleged audiotape''.
The petition was filed in the Islamabad High Court by Sindh High Court President Salahuddin Ahmed and Syed Haider Imam Rizvi, a member of the Judicial Commission.
Chief Justice Athar Minallah said that the court has to look into the facts only in accordance with the law and not go into judicial activism.
Following today's hearing, the court has decided to seek the assistance of the Attorney General on the admissibility of the petition and has issued a pre-admission notice to him and adjourned the hearing for one week.
What happened during the hearing?
At the commencement of the hearing, the Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court asked the petitioner to state how the petition is admissible. Against whom was the writ filed?
He told the petitioner Salahuddin Ahmed that his petition was related to the audio clip of the present service Chief Justice.
''On judicial inquiry, the petitioner said that the petition was not related to the present Chief Justice but to an audio clip of the former Chief Justice of Pakistan''.
Justice Athar Minallah raised the question as to who has the capacity to record audio tapes of Chief Justice of Pakistan and whether he has released this audio or a person sitting in US?
Justice Jeff said that even if it is assumed that it is original, it is very important to know where the original clip is.
Justice Athar Minallah said that the judiciary is facing major challenges and the court does not want us to go into something that will open the flood gate and the court has to take into account many things.
He said that we are living in a society where social media is without any regulation and something is going on every day, what would you inquire about?
Petitioner's lawyer Salahuddin Ahmed said that it is painful that this thing has gone viral on social media and it is also being discussed.
The court said that it would be very easy for political parties or groups to form an opinion and then decisions would be taken outside the courts and not in the courts.
''Chief Justice Athar Minallah said that different political forces make different statements but the court does not come.''Talking about this case, he said that those who have tapes related to their cases have not shown any interest in bringing the matter to court and when they do not come to court then the court has to see what is their intention.
Petitioner Salahuddin Ahmed also confirmed that the real affected parties do not come forward and this is the problem.
At the end of the hearing, the court issued pre-admission notice to the Attorney General of Pakistan and adjourned the hearing for one week.
What is the background to the controversial audio?
A few days ago, two people could be heard talking in an audio released on Fact Fox, an investigative journalism website. He is talking about putting pressure on his daughter Maryam Nawaz to be sentenced.
Both men did not reveal their identities during the conversation, but the website claims that one of them is the voice of former Chief Justice Saqib Nisar.
During the conversation, he was allegedly heard saying that the judiciary has been asked to punish Nawaz Sharif.
In the audio, the voice attributed to the former Chief Justice can be heard saying: Has to be brought. '
The other participant in the conversation is also told, "Yes, I have to do it now."
On the issue of punishing Maryam Nawaz, when the other person involved in the conversation said, "I don't think it is appropriate to punish the daughter," the former Chief Justice allegedly said, "You are absolutely right." I told my friends to do something about it, but they did not agree.
Reaction of former Chief Justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar
Saqib Nisar, he said that it was the result of audio forgery. "It's all fabricated," he said.''I haven't talked to anyone like that''.
On the question of whether the voice in the audio is his, Saqib Nisar said, "I don't know if it belongs to someone else or I have collected it from somewhere. I can't say but I have never told this to anyone." (Did not).
On the question of whether the decisions in question are based on merit, the former chief justice said, "Judges make decisions on merit. I have never given any order to anyone, so how can I say that no decision has been made on merit.