One could have been an isolated event, two could have been a coincidence, but this recent series of leaked videos of arrested suspects “confessing” their crimes is a calculated policy and a dangerous trend.

After the airing of three leaked interrogation videos of two high-profile suspects by TV channels in as many days, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan took to the stage to admonish the authorities. On the face of it, his comments seem spot on. He termed such leaks and the resulting media frenzy that follows as “illegal and unethical” which not only damaged the case of the prosecution but infringed on the accused’s right to a fair trial. His actions too seemed appropriate; he asked the Sindh government to find out which investigating agency was behind the leaks and directed Pakistan Telecommunications Authority to prohibit any news channel from airing videos of any suspects who are currently under arrest.

Despite this measured - and necessary - response, the interior minister faced bitter criticism from both Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM). It is easy to see why, not too long ago, Chaudhry Nisar himself threatened to leak the confessional video of Dr Asim if the PPP didn’t cooperate over the Rangers extension. The Interior Minister may be making sense at this instance, but he too is part of the problem that sees the videos as a legitimate tool in political life. Perhaps his words don’t amount to hypocrisy as per the claims of the PPP, but they surely amount to a principal inconsistency.

It was the Interior Minister who first gave legitimacy to these “illegal and unethical” videos when he approached the President to postpone the execution of Saulat Mirza when his confession was leaked hours before he was scheduled to be executed in Mach Jail, Balochistan. He did so again by using them as a bargaining chip in the Rangers’ extension saga. If the Interior Minister puts such stock in the veracity of leaked confessional videos, why shouldn’t the law enforcement agencies? Furthermore, before asking the Sindh government to investigate it’s ranks Chaudhry Nisar should remember that the Rangers and Federal Investigation Agency fall under his purview - perhaps he should set his own house in order.

But let’s not get our hopes up too high; the Interior Minister ordered investigations into the leaked videos of Saulat Mirza and Khalid Shamim too, but those reports have never been made public - assuming they were investigated at all.