Amid the ongoing discussion on the controversial suo moto taken by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, an alleged audio leak of a call made by his mother-in-law Mahjabeen Noon has come to light.
In an audio leak that surfaced on the internet on Sunday, Noon can be heard talking to Pakistan-e-Tehreek Insaf (PTI) lawyer Khawaja Tariq Rahim’s wife, Rafia Tariq, about her concerns regarding CJP Bandial’s safety. Tariq then assured her that the party is with the CJP as many people have been praying for him.
The two women purportedly also discussed the possibility of martial law being imposed if early elections were not held in Punjab.
The transcript of the audio is as follows:
Mahjabeen: Hello Rafia, what is going to happen? I have been praying for Umar [Ata Bandial] since last night, I can’t tell you [how much I] have been praying since the morning.
Rafia Tariq: I have told people as well and sent a message to Umar. I said that I was present at the Lahore rally. Hundreds of thousands people were there. Similarly, there are hundreds of thousands people in every city. And you just try to estimate how much the world is praying for you right now, which will [increase] your strength and your safety.
Rafia Tariq: No no, his safety is a must.
Mahjabeen: Weaken them and strengthen them.
Rafia: May Allah make the others blind. That’s what I am saying. They are traitors of this country. Look at the way they are doing this.
Mahjabeen: Exactly. But now they are saying why has he got the authority to do it.
Rafia: No, but no, no, no.
Mahjabeen: They are deliberately giving an advantage by putting other things there now.
Rafia: There is no other thing.
Mahjabeen: And also questioning why has suo motu been taken by him.
Rafia: That’s his right.
Mahjabeen: Umar hasn’t been given this right [suo motu], it had happened earlier.
Rafia: No, but it’s the right of every chief justice. If you have to change the law then change them in your […vella] not at this time
Mahjabeen: No, but they can’t change them now.
Rafia: Not now. They can change it later but not now. The law is there.
Mahjabeen: Law is there. Exactly.
Rafia: Yeah. Exactly. [inaudible]
Mahjabeen: [I told his wife and kids] You don’t come at all. You stay with Umar. He needs you at this moment.
Rafia: No. Not even Naveen should come and I have told Iman that she should stay with her father all the time.
Mahjabeen: Yeah, exactly.
Rafia: At night, I… at night.. at night I sent something to them both, him and Muneeb. Do you know what he sent me [back]? The face that you make while biting the tongue. He was telling me to be careful. Why should I be careful? Why?
Mahjabeen: May elections be held at the earliest.
Rafia: Elections… see if they don’t happen then assume there will be martial law. They [govt] cannot stay that’s it.
Mahjabeen: They are not even ready to impose martial law.
Rafia: They are ready.
The audio has sparked controversy in Pakistan, with many people including the general public expressing concern about the political and judicial implications of the alleged conversation.
It is unclear at this time whether the audio is authentic or fabricated.
Reactions by the politicians:
Reacting to the alleged audio leak, PTI Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry said that his party has repeatedly asked the Supreme Court to look into the matter.
Fawad, in his tweet, mentioned that “such illegal phone tapping is punishable by up to three years in prison under the fair trial law.”
In a statement on Twitter, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz expressed concern that decisions were being made based on the likes and dislikes of wives and mothers-in-law, rather than on the basis of the constitution and law.
