In response to the recent audio leaks, former Prime Minister Imran Khan has demanded that the three-member judicial commission, tasked with investigating the matter, be granted extensive powers to uncover the identity of the “powerful and unknown” entities responsible for tapping and recording telephone conversations of citizens, including high-ranking public officials. Khan expressed his concerns on Twitter, emphasizing the need to address the issue of unlawful and unconstitutional surveillance targeting the Prime Minister’s Office and Supreme Court judges.
Khan argued that the Terms of Reference (ToR) formulated by the federal government for the commission failed to address the crucial question of identifying those behind the illegal surveillance. He insisted that the commission must have the authority to investigate and expose the individuals responsible for breaching the privacy rights guaranteed under Article 14 of the Constitution. Additionally, he called for holding accountable not only those involved in retrieving data through unlawful means but also those who fabricate and leak such recordings on social media.
The former Prime Minister emphasized that a democratic society governed by the rule of law should not permit arbitrary intrusions into citizens’ lives. He stressed that the right to privacy and dignity, protected under Article 14, is blatantly violated when the state engages in unlawful surveillance.
Khan revealed that some of the leaked phone calls were made through supposedly secure lines in the Prime Minister’s Office, suggesting that unauthorized tapping and tampering occurred. He expressed his belief that the responsible parties operated outside the Prime Minister’s knowledge and authority, raising the question of who these actors were and how they managed to conduct illegal surveillance with impunity. He called upon the commission to identify and hold accountable these elements.
Recently, the federal government formed a three-member judicial commission to investigate the authenticity of the audio leaks and their potential impact on the independence of the judiciary. The commission, led by Justice Qazi Faez Isa, a senior puisne judge of the Supreme Court, also includes Chief Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan of the Balochistan High Court and Chief Justice Aamer Farooq of the Islamabad High Court. However, the commission is awaiting the consent of the judges involved.
According to the Inquiry Commission Act of 2017, the federal government has the authority to establish a commission of inquiry when it is deemed necessary to investigate a matter of public importance. In this case, the commission will delve into the veracity of the leaked audio recordings and evaluate their potential implications for the judiciary’s independence.