ISLAMABAD - The Islamabad High Court (IHC) will Monday (today) take up a petition seeking court’s directions for constitution of high powered inquiry commission for verifying audio tape leak attributed to former Chief Justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar.
A single bench of IHC comprising Chief Justice of IHC Justice Athar Minallah will conduct hearing of the petition moved by president of Sindh High Court Bar Association (SHCBA) Salahuddin Ahmed Advocate and member of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) Syed Haider Imam Rizvi.
In their petition, they sought the formation of a commission to ascertain the truth behind the alleged audio tape of former chief justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar and probe other allegations against judiciary.
They adopted that the audiotape has tarnished the image of the judiciary and to protect the independence of the judiciary, it is important to determine whether Justice (retd) Nisar’s audio is genuine or fake.
The petitioners mentioned five major allegations levelled against the higher judiciary in the last four years. The first is the alleged WhatsApp call; the second is the revelations of Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui; the third is the video of late Judge Arshad Malik which was played by PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz in her press conference; the fourth is Rana Shamim’s statement and the fifth is an audio tape attributed to Justice (retd) Nisar.
They said that the alleged audiotape attributed to the former chief justice gave the impression that the judiciary is under pressure from external forces.
They added that audio tapes have tarnished the image of the judiciary.
They suggested the judiciary to form an independent commission to protect its name as important questions had been raised about the independence of the judiciary. They further said that as a constitutional court, it is important to restore public confidence in an independent and impartial judiciary.
The SHCBA president and the JCP member requested the court for formation of an independent commission comprising well-known retired judges, lawyers, journalists and members of civil society to investigate the alleged audio tape attributed to the former chief justice.
They prayed to the court that the commission should be asked to prepare terms of reference and investigate other allegations against the judiciary.