The Islamabad High Court on Friday offered to conduct forensic analysis of the alleged leaked audio clip of former CJP Saqib Nisar and asked the Attorney General of Pakistan and Pakistan Bar Council to propose names of reliable agencies who could analyze the clip.

In the audio clip which was leaked in November, a person said to be former CJP Nisar can be heard colluding to deny bails to ex-PM Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz till the 2018 general election in order to facilitate Imran Khan into power.

The former top judge had termed the audio as “fabricated”.

On Friday, IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah heard the case in which the petitioner, Sindh High Court Bar Association President Salahuddin Ahmed, requested the court to form a panel to investigate Nisar’s alleged leaked audiotape.

During the hearing it was revealed that the petitioner did not know where was the original audio clip. However, he pleaded the court should form an independent commission to inquire into the matter and find out whether the conversation in the leaked audio recording was real or fake.

Justice Minallah noted the petitioner was asking to form a commission on a pending appeal and that those who had filed the appeals did not make such demand. The court order and the inquiry demanded by the advocate would impact the pending appeals, he added.

He asked Advocate Ahmed whether a high court could issue an order in a writ petition which will impact pending appeals?

When the petitioner was told that he accused that the IHC benches were formed under pressure, Advocate Ahmed said he did not level the allegation and that the same was stated in former chief justice of Gilgit Baltistan Rana Shamim's affidavit.

At this Justice Minallah asked whether evidence existed that the court was compromised and the bench was formed under pressure. The inquiry asked by the petitioner included the inquiry of judges who were the part of that bench, he noted.

Advocate Ahmed reiterated the basic plea in his petition was to conduct the inquiry of the alleged audio clip of the ex-CJP Saqib Nisar. No where in the purported recording it was mentioned that to whom the former top judge was speaking to, he said, adding the references were added in the petition to elaborate the context of the situation.

The inquiry would reveal who would be declared guilty and innocent, said the petitioner, adding talking about these matters was ahead of time.

He further said journalist Ahmed Noorani did a story on the alleged audio clip of former chief justice on Fact Focus and according to the forensic report of the audio recording, it was not tampered.

When Justice Ahmed read the forensic report of the audio clip, the IHC chief justice asked him from where did he get the document. At this the petitioner told him it was available on the internet.

The court could not rely on the forensic agency's report which the petitioner was reading, Justice Minallah noted, asking Justice Ahmed who would bear the expenses of the audio's forensic if the court ordered to do so.

When the petitioner said the Ministry of Law would bear the expenses of the audio's forensic, Justice Minallah asked why the tax-payers' money should be spent on the issue.

The IHC CJ then asked Justice Ahmed to propose the name of an authentic agency that would perform the forensic of the audio.

At this Justice Ahmed said he was labelled as "the proxy of someone" so he would not suggest name of the forensic company and that the IHC CJ should ask attorney general about it.

The court ordered the petitioner to provide the audio clip and adjourned the hearing till January 28.