The former chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar on Monday gave a statement regarding a leaked audio clip allegedly of a conversation between him and an unidentified man revolving around PML-N leaders Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz’s trial and said that the clip was “fabricated”.
Nisar said, “I have never spoken to the person in the audio call.”
The audio clip has a voice, purportedly of the former CJP, saying, “Let me be a little blunt about it. Unfortunately, here it is the institutions that dictate judgments. In this case, we will have to punish Mian Sahab (Nawaz Sharif). [I] have been told ‘we have to bring Khan Sahab (Imran Khan) [into power].'”
The audio continues saying, “Punishment will have to be given.”
In the audio clip, the man on the other end of the line says that Maryam Nawaz “doesn’t merit a sentence”, Nisar allegedly responds by saying, “You are absolutely correct.
He adds, “I talked to my friends that something should be done about this but they did not agree. The independence of the judiciary will not remain. So, let it be.”
Forensic Report
According to the Fact Focus website which broke the story, the audio clip was examined by a leading firm in the United States which specializes in multimedia forensics.
As per the report by Fact Focus, “Garret Discovery has a team of leading experts who have a long experience of analyzing and presenting evidence and testifying before courts in the US. The firm’s analysis report certifies the integrity of the audio file and states that ‘this audio has not been edited in any way”.
The report cites Nisar as saying that he had never contacted any judge of an accountability court to order them to announce a verdict against Nawaz or Maryam.
As per the report, Nisar asked, “Why I would do that? I have no grudges against Mian Nawaz Sharif.”
The report states that the former CJP said that no one from the Pakistan Army or the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) had ever contacted him or pressured him regarding the case.
PML-N criticizes Nisar
Meanwhile, PML-N leaders criticized Nisar over the alleged audio clip, calling for an explanation regarding the matter.
President of PML-N Shehbaz Sharif said that the audio clip was proof of how Nawaz and Maryam were “targeted as part of a grand scheme to keep them out of political process”.
He took to Twitter and said, “Time has come to right the wrongs inflicted on them. The nation looks forward to the justice system”.
PML-N spokesperson Mariyum Aurangzeb shared the screenshots of the forensic report with the comment, “The report card is present.”
The secretary-general Ahsan Iqbal called on Nisar to explain his position while describing the audio clip as “serious stuff”. He said, “These tapes provide evidence to what was an open secret in Islamabad.”
Former senator Pervaiz Rashid said, “The one who is refusing to recognize his voice today will reject his written judgments too tomorrow”.
Questioning the authenticity of the audio clip and implying that fabricated clips can be easily created, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry shared another audio in which a voice strikingly similar to Nawaz’s can be heard bizarrely criticizing himself.
Chaudhry shared the audio and tweeted, “What [things] have technology made possible. One example is this”.
