The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has moved the Supreme Court for a judicial investigation into the Prime Minister House audio leaks, purportedly pertaining to a conversation between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his cabinet members regarding the en masse resignations of PTI lawmakers from the National Assembly.
Party leader Fawad Chaudhry confirmed the same in a tweet earlier in the day. “Tehreek-e-Insaf has submitted the script of the audio-leaks of the talks of the ministers regarding the resignations to the Supreme Court, now these leaks are before the Supreme Court,” he tweeted, while urging the top court to order an investigation.
Multiple audio conversations have surfaced over the last two weeks, including those from the PM House involving PM Shehbaz Sharif, PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz, PTI chief Imran Khan and others.
The leaked audio in question has the premier discussing the resignations of PTI lawmakers from the NA with Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and Ayaz Sadiq.
Petition
The petition states that in the leaked audio, the principals can be heard discussing a “heinous strategy to outplay the petitioner from the parliamentary politics in the most illegal, unlawful and objectionable manner”.
It contends that the accused used a criminal strategy/conspiracy to target Imran Khan through “(illegal and unlawful) piecemeal acceptance of the resignations” submitted by PTI MNAs on April 11. This was a day after Imran Khan’s ouster as prime minister following a vote of no confidence.
It stated that the incumbent NA Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and the NA secretary were involved in the “conspiracy”. PM Shehbaz and federal ministers Rana Sanaullah and Marriyum Aurangzeb have also admitted the “actuality and existence of the referred audio leaks,” it said, while urging the court to take judicial notice.
The petition also claimed that the NA speaker and federal minister has violated their oaths while calling for criminal proceedings against them.
Resignation saga
Following the en masse resignation of 123 PTI lawmakers, then-NA deputy speaker Qasim Suri accepted it. He did this while serving as acting speaker following the resignation of incumbent Asad Qaiser, who stepped down after refusing to conduct the no-confidence vote against Imrna.
Suri himself stepped down a few days later, hours before a vote of no-confidence against him.
His replacement, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, stayed the resignations, instead opting to verify them first. On July 27, he accepted 11 of them.
The PTI approached the Islamabad High Court over the issue, which dismissed the PTI petition and declared that the acceptance of PTI lawmakers’ resignations by Suri was unconstitutional.
The PTI had subsequently approached the SC, praying it to set aside the IHC order, terming it “vague, cursory and against the law”.
