[Former
chief justice allegedly heard on tape admitting pressure was brought to bear in
case against ex-PM]
The
recording, which has not been independently verified by the Guardian, has
triggered an uproar in Pakistan and
once again drawn scrutiny towards the country’s courts, which have long been
tainted by accusations of meddling by the military.
In
the audio clip, Saqib Nisar, the former chief justice, is allegedly heard
saying: “Let me be blunt about it: unfortunately it is the institutions who
dictate judgments.”
The
reference to “institutions” has been taken to mean the military, which holds a
tight grip over politics in Pakistan even though the country is technically
ruled by a civilian government.
Sharif’s
party, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, demanded a thorough investigation of the
audio clip, and Islamabad high court has been asked to create an independent
commission to ascertain its authenticity and investigate the former prime minister’s
conviction.
“Unfortunately,
the history of Pakistan is full of judges who have enfeebled the rule of law by
collaborating with military dictators,” said Nawaz. “No single government in
the entire history has been allowed to complete its tenure. This instance is no
exception.”
Fawad
Chaudhry, Pakistan’s information minister, said the government could not
investigate the issue as it was now a matter for the courts.
Ali
Ahmed Kurd, a senior lawyer and former president of the Supreme Court Bar
Association, said Pakistan’s history was littered with politicians and prime
ministers imprisoned on wrong charges by judges.
“What
some judges have done, from hanging [the former prime minister] Zulfiqar Ali
Bhutto to convicting Sharif, is part of our bleak history but it has to change
now,” he said. “The alleged audio leak should be investigated and the judiciary
should remain impartial.”
Nisar
then allegedly goes on to say: “In this case we will have to penalise Mian
Sahib,” referring to Sharif. He adds that “regardless of merit”, the judgment
in the case will go against Sharif and his daughter.
Sharif
was sentenced to 10 years in prison for corruption and his daughter Maryam
Nawaz to seven years in the 2018
case referred to on the tape. The case related to money laundering and
the ownership of luxury property in London.
Nisar
says it is in order to “bring in Khan Sahib”, which has been interpreted as
referring to the current prime minister in deferential terms.
In
the tape, the judge also appears to be heard acknowledging that Nawaz does not
deserve to be convicted, adding: “I did talk to friends that something be done
about this but they did not agree. There will be no independence of the
judiciary, so let it be.”
It
is not clear who was being spoken to on the tape.
Nisar
has responded to the allegations by saying the audio recording is a fake, and
he has denied any wrongdoing. “It is fabricated. I have never talked to anyone
on this matter. This is a campaign against me,” he said.
The
clip was originally obtained by the Pakistani investigative news site Fact Focus this month, who
sent it to be verified by an independent US-based forensic company, Garrett
Discovery.
Garrett
Discovery reported that the recording it was sent had not been manipulated,
tampered with or edited. However, the origins of the recording remain unknown,
and Garrett could not verify whether it was an original recording or a
secondary recording of audio that may or may not have been manipulated.
The
company said that since it had authenticated the audio, it had received threats
of violence and calls to retract its verification.
Three
days after the recording was revealed, the former wife of Ahmad Noorani, the
journalist who published the audio, was attacked in Lahore by an unknown
assailant and her car was damaged. Police are investigating the matter. It is
not clear if the incident is linked to the audio recording, as Noorani has
alleged.
Despite
the judge’s denials, the appearance of the audio has set off a firestorm around
Khan’s government. Khan, a former cricketer turned
politician, has been known for his close ties to the military. Under his
rule the military has retained significant power in what is now viewed as a
hybrid civilian-military regime. Khan and the military have denied these
accusations.
If
authenticated, the recording may confirm that the military put pressure on the
judiciary to convict the former prime minister, to remove Sharif as a political
obstacle to Khan, who was elected later that year.
“This
audio provided more substance to the accusation that Khan was installed in
government by the powerful non-political forces,” said Hamid Mir, one of
Pakistan’s foremost journalists and commentators.
Sharif’s
party, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, demanded a thorough investigation of the
audio clip, and Islamabad high court has been asked to create an independent
commission to ascertain its authenticity and investigate the former prime
minister’s conviction.
“Unfortunately,
the history of Pakistan is full of judges who have enfeebled the rule of law by
collaborating with military dictators,” said Nawaz. “No single government in
the entire history has been allowed to complete its tenure. This instance is no
exception.”
Fawad
Chaudhry, Pakistan’s information minister, said the government could not
investigate the issue as it was now a matter for the courts.
Ali
Ahmed Kurd, a senior lawyer and former president of the Supreme Court Bar
Association, said Pakistan’s history was littered with politicians and prime
ministers imprisoned on wrong charges by judges.
“What
some judges have done, from hanging [the former prime minister] Zulfiqar Ali
Bhutto to convicting Sharif, is part of our bleak history but it has to change
now,” he said. “The alleged audio leak should be investigated and the judiciary
should remain impartial.”
