ISLAMABAD:The Islamabad High Court has suspended FIA’s notice to former first lady Bushra Bibi in connection with the audio leaks probe.
The notice was issued to Ms Bibi after she purportedly featured in a telephonic conversation, the recording of which was leaked on social media. She was asked to appear before a JIT to confirm if it was indeed her voice in the audio.
On Friday, Justice Babar Sattar took up the petitions of Ms Bibi against the order.
Sardar Latif Khosa, Ms Bibi’s counsel, argued that the FIA had summoned the former first lady for a voice match test.
He pointed out that since the matter was sub judice, the FIA’s summons might be suspended.
Justice Sattar perused the reports filed on behalf of the interior ministry, defence ministry and the PTA.
“[N]one of the divisions of the Federal Government or Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) have addressed all the questions posed to them, including ... as to which agencies possess the capacity to undertake electronic surveillance...” the judge observed.
The court gave “one more opportunity” to the Prime Minister’s office, interior and defence ministries to file reports, warning that in case of failure, the court will “implead intelligence agencies and telecom operators to seek responses from them”.
Published in Dawn, September 23th, 2023
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