Khawaja Asif criticises the Chief Justice of Pakistan–led bench of the Supreme Court.
1. Defence Minister
The Defence Minister has criticised Chief Justice Bandial for being part of the wider bench investigating the leaks of judicial audio recordings.On Tuesday, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif lashed out at Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, claiming that the judiciary cannot dictate parliament because “it is sovereign.”In reference to the government’s inquiry commission constituted to investigate audio leaks involving judges, he was referring to a five-member bench of the Supreme Court, headed by the chief justice.
2. Parliament
Defence Minister tells Chief Justice in National Assembly that Parliament would strike back if its authority is challenged and if its writ is attacked.He claimed the government established a commission but the chief justice blocked its work.”It was expected that the chief justice would leave this matter to the commission as it also involved his mother-in-law,” said the defence minister, who is also a senior leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).Former chief judge Iftikhar Chaudhary recused himself from the bench and separated himself from his son’s case, he claimed, referring to the Arsalan Iftikhar case.
3.chief justice
In his words, “if Iftikhar Chaudhary can separate himself from the bench, then the incumbent chief justice should also be separated,” and “it seems like good traditions are being abandoned.”The veteran lawmaker stated that the Supreme Court took notice of the Supreme Court (Practise and Procedure) Bill, 2023 before it became an act.His words were, “We have not added any outsider inside the commission,” and he said, “We want an end to the one-man show in the apex court.” We don’t want any conflict with the judicial system, hence we support greater public access to the judicial process.
4.Commission of Judges
On May 20, Justice Qazi Faez Isa, Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan, and Justice Aamer Farooq were appointed to a high-level judicial commission to investigate the leaks of judicial-related recordings.The commission was given 30 days to finish the investigation.The commission will investigate the legitimacy of multiple audio leaks, including one allegedly of a conversation between former Punjab chief minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi and a sitting top court judge discussing the composition of an apex court bench.Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan subsequently contested the formation of the three-member judicial commission on audio leaks, questioning the government for the “deliberate omission” of the TORs.
5. PTI leader’s
The PTI leader’s attorney and party head, Babar Awan, submitted the petition asking the court to overturn the announcement for forming the panel.Similarly, SCBA President Abid Zubairi has contested the audio leaks commission’s authority to subpoena him to testify in connection with the investigation.Earlier, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar stated that CJP Bandial was not consulted prior to the formation of the commission.The Supreme Court paused the commission’s activities after receiving these petitions and stopped the federal government from giving notice of the commission’s constitution.
6. audio smuggling
A supreme court of five judges gave the directive.justices Ijaz ul Ahsan, Munib Akhtar, Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, and Shahid Waheed, presided over by Chief Justice Bandial.To investigate possible audio smugglingThe following audio leaks were reported to the commission, and an investigation was launched:
A conversation on the phone between the ex-chief minister of Punjab and an attorney regarding bringing certain cases before a specific Supreme Court bench.
Conversation between the ex-chief minister of Punjab and a member of the Supreme Court bench.
7.Ex-prime minister Khan’s
Saqib Nisar, the former chief judge of Pakistan, spoke on the phone with a prominent attorney.Conversation on the phone between a lawyer and a journalist on a case decided by a specific Supreme Court panel.Ex-prime minister Khan’s party member called to discuss their ties to the Supreme Court.
Conversation discussing Supreme Court cases and an unconstitutional rule over the phone between the mother-in-law of CJP Umar Ata Bandial and the wife of a lawyer.Najam Saqib, the son of former Chief Justice Nisar, made a phone call to a buddy in which he discussed his father’s career in politics.
