Immediately after the Supreme Court (SC) termed PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s arrest “invalid and unlawful”, an audio clip purportedly featuring a conversation between the former prime minister and party leader Musarrat Jamshed Cheema started making the rounds on social media.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) whisked away the PTI chief on Tuesday from the premises of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in the Al-Qadir Trust case, resulting in violent protests across the country.
Nearly 72 hours after his arrest, the SC ruled that the former prime minister’s arrest was not legal and directed him to appear before the IHC tomorrow at 11am. It also said that Imran would be kept at the Police Lines Guest House, where he was previously being kept, and directed the government to guarantee the PTI chief’s security.
In the audio — posted by journalist Murtaza Shah — a voice, suggested to be of Imran, could allegedly be heard telling Cheema to approach the top court, apparently against his arrest by the NAB.
In the clip, which features the portaits of Imran and Cheema with an accompanying text in Urdu suggesting that it was recorded on May 10 — the voice suggested to be the PTI chief asks Cheema if “they had received the message”, to which Cheema says that his message had been sent. “We are sitting in the high court and we have told them that we won’t leave until NAB produces you in court,” she says.
At that, Imran purportedly tells Cheema: “Also tell Azam Swati to approach the SC … because what they have done is completely nullified.” He could also be heard asking what “is the chief justice doing” and then said that “he doesn’t give correct orders”.
The man suggested to be Imran reiterates: “Talk to Azam.”
The audio clip has not been independently verified by Dawn.com.
PTI leader Hammad Azhar said the audio leak was doctored.
“In this alleged audio release, the chief justice of the IHC is being mentioned and not the SC. And this new edit has been made out of a two-day-old conversation when Imran Khan was present in the IHC,” he tweeted.
“The authorities must understand that nothing is gained from such actions. The main issue is the restoration of democracy and adherence to the Constitution,” Azhar added.
On the other hand, a tweet from the official Twitter handle of PML-N said: “The journey from selected government to selected justice.”
Slew of audio recordings
A day earlier, several audio leaks, apparently featuring PTI leaders, had emerged suggesting that the party leadership was on board with the violence that ensued in the last two days after Imran’s arrest.
Of late, a slew of audio leaks featuring key government and opposition figures — including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, PTI Chairman Imran Khan, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz, and others — have surfaced on social media.
The clips, seemingly featuring informal conversations, had raised serious concerns regarding the security of government offices — particularly the Prime Minister’s Office.
PM Shehbaz had termed the surfacing of audio leaks a “very serious lapse” and announced that a high-level committee would be constituted to probe the matter.
On the other hand, the PTI had filed a petition in the SC seeking a probe into the audios. Former premier Imran Khan had also written a letter to Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial and other SC judges, and sought “enforcement” of the fundamental rights of the public, including the Constitution’s Article 14 (fundamental right to privacy).
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