Special body probing audio leaks will summon ex-CJP Saqib Nisar, son: MNA Bhootani

FOOLS_NIGHTMARE · May 8, 2023

MNA Muhammad Aslam Bhootani on Sunday said former chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) Saqib Nisar and his son will be summoned by a special committee to audit, inquire and investigate the purported audio leaks with a PTI ticket holder.

On April 29, the saga of recent audio leaks took an interesting turn as a fresh clip emerged, purportedly featuring the voice of ex-CJP Nisar’son, demanding a “reward” for a “job done for a PTI ticket candidate”.

In the audio, a voice purported to be that of Najam Saqib can be heard saying to the person on the other end that his father had worked very hard to get the job done, and the caller on the other side, said to be PTI ticket hopeful Abuzar Chaddhar, can be heard saying he would come to meet Najam’s father after submitting the ticket.

In the clip, the voice said to be Najam’s can also be heard asking Chaddhar to meet his father the same day and, in conversation with another caller — identified as Mian Uzair — asking for “not only delivery of the goods, don’t take less than 120”.

Subsequently, the lower house of Parliament had approved a motion authorising the speaker to constitute a committee to probe the audio clip. The National Assembly Secretariat thereafter issued a circular on May 2 for the 10-member committee.

Speaking in Dawn News show ‘Doosra Rukh’ today, Bhootani, who is also the chairman of the special committee, said the investigation could not move forward if Nisar, Najam and the person being heard in the audio leak did not come forward and record their statements.

“You need to understand that the parliament is helping Nisar. If there is anything against him and he has been badmouthed and levelled with baseless allegations then we will conduct a forensic analysis with the help of investigating agencies to ascertain the facts,” he added.

Bhootani said the special committee will hold its first meeting on May 9 during which the Terms of References will be decided and a decision will be taken regarding all the people that have to be summoned.

“We will send them notices so that they come and record their statement,” he said. “We want to get to the bottom of the matter regarding the use of money during elections. Democracy is weakened by this trend and not just any political party.”

Bhootani pointed out that the special committee was in a way supporting Nisar to clear his name and bring an end to the matter if a baseless allegation was levelled against him.

“I will request them to come forward and give their opinion about it so that everything becomes clear,” the independent MNA said. “But if it (the audio leak) is proven, then we will submit our report to the parliament and they can decide the further course of action.”

He clarified that the motive was to discourage the trend of the use of money that takes place in a democracy.

In reply to a question over what action will be taken if Nisar does not appear before the special committee, Chairman Bhootani said: “It will be his loss. We are giving him a chance. In a way, we are doing this for his good, so that he comes and proves that this is a lie if it is.”

He added that if someone was avoiding providing clarification over the matter then it will give people a chance to make up different theories.

“I have called the law and interior minister apart from FIA (Federal Investigation Agency) officials. The main focus will be on FIA and its cyber wing. We will see how much they cooperate with us as they have to conduct forensic analyses of the audio.

“What is the actual reality about the audio leak? Is this real or is it tampered with? This is the real matter.”

When asked about a probe into the other audio leaks, Bhootani said the special committee will investigate other audios too if the National Assembly speaker gave them the mandate to. “For now, this committee has only been given a mandate to probe these two.”

He highlighted that the decision taken by the special committee will be in light of everyone’s views, including the interior department and even the attorney general.

Bhootani concluded that it will be the prerogative of the meeting’s participants to decide if the next session will also be held the following week or after a gap of a few days.

Deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s daughter, Maryam Nawaz, has already made several scathing allegations against the former chief justice, accusing him of facilitating the rise to power of her arch-rival, Imran Khan.

Last month, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had also accused ex-CJP Nisar of sabotaging development projects initiated by the previous PML-N regime.