Leaks commission summons ex-CJP’s son

Asks Najam Saqib, three others, to appear before it on May 27

ISLAMABAD:

The judicial commission probing into some leaked audio clips allegedly featuring some serving and former judges and their family members has summoned four individuals including Najam Saqib, the son of former chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar.

Along with Najam, Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Abid Zuberi, Advocate Tariq Rahim and journalist Abdul Qayyum will also appear before the commission on May 27 (Saturday).

Interestingly, a special committee of the parliament on Wednesday also decided to summon four people including former CJP Nisar and his son in connection with its probe into a couple of leaked audio clips.

A couple of audio clips allegedly featuring the voice of Najam Saqib surfaced on April 29. In one of the clips, Najam could be heard telling politician Abuzar Chadar that his father, former CJP Nisar, had “worked really hard” to get Chadar a ticket of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.

In the second audio, Najam allegedly tells MIan Aziz how much money he expects in return for the party ticket. The National Assembly took notice of the audio clips on May 2 and later formed a special committee to investigate the matter.

The federal government on May 20 formed a judicial commission to probe into these and six other leaked audio clips allegedly involving some current and former members of superior judiciary and their family members to determine their “veracity" and "impact on the independence of the judiciary”.

The three-man judicial commission is led by Supreme Court senior puisne judge Isa and comprises Balochistan High Court Chief Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Aamer Farooq.

The commission on Tuesday issued a public notice asking the people with any information relating to the matter to share it with the inquiry commission’s secretary Hafeezullah Khajjak.

The notice, however, made it clear that the people providing information or documents must disclose their full name, mailing address, email address and cell-phone numbers. “Anonymous communication will not be accepted,” it added.

As the commission initiated its probe on Monday, Justice Isa clarified that this investigation is neither of a criminal nature nor will it step on the Supreme Judicial Council’s (SJC) jurisdiction.

“All persons involved will be treated with due respect and are expected to uphold the same in their replies. We are only here to find facts and not to take action against anyone.”

Justice Isa stressed that while the commission would remain open to receiving relevant information from any person who wished to provide it, the provider must identify themselves clearly. Any information received from anonymous persons would not be taken into consideration.

The commission also warned that action might be taken against relevant officials if any mistakes are found in the transcripts of the audios. The federal government was asked to submit the said recordings as well as all details pertaining to the matter by May 24.

Formed under Section 3 of the Inquiry Commission Act, 2017, the commission is mandated to probe into the audios that have surfaced in the last few months—particularly since the Supreme Court has taken suo motu notice of delay in announcement of polls in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.