Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah on Thursday called on Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial to take notice of a recent audio leak purportedly involving former Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Sanaullah called for a forensic test of the leaked phone recording. He also urged the top judge to bring the culprits to justice.
“If the former Punjab CM is found guilty after the forensic, then the matter should be presented before the judicial committee,” he added.
In a sensational audio leak that surfaced online on Thursday, Elahi, can allegedly be heard talking to a judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, about Mohammad Khan Bhatti’s case.
The audio recordings, released in three parts, allegedly feature the voice of Elahi, a close ally of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), talking to three different people.
In the first part, Pervaiz Elahi is talking to lawyer Jahangir Jhoja in Punjabi, and asks him to ensure that Mohammed Ali Bhatti’s case is put up before the said judge. Bhatti, the former Secretary of Punjab Assembly, considered a close aide of Pervaiz Elahi’s, was arrested from Karachi on February 6 while he was en route to Sindh High Court for protective bail.
Jhoja allegedly replies to Pervaiz Elahi that they will try to make it happen. Pervaiz Elahi then says, “He is dabang (bold).”
In the second audio leak, Pervaiz Elahi talks to Abid Zuberi, the President of Supreme Court Bar Association. Elahi again asks him to ensure that the case is put up before the same judge. “Have they filed the case sir,” Zuberi asks, to which Elahi replies in the affirmative, asking Zuberi not to tell anyone.
Zuberi then says, “Day after tomorrow, Dogar’s case will be heard too, on 14th. [The judge] is part of the bench.” Elahi does not seem to remember who Dogar is, upon which Abid Zuberi reminds him that Ghulam Muhammad Dogar was the CCPO Lahore. “He has been removed but the case still is pending before the court, Sir,” Zuberi says. “I will discuss it,” said Pervez Elahi.
The third and final audio allegedly is of a phone conversation between Pervaiz Elahi and the judge himself. The former Chief Minister tells the judge that he is coming over to meet him. He also asks if Muhammad Khan is there to which the reply is that he has reached. Elahi then allegedly says that he is coming without protocol and is quite near. He allegedly says that he will offer salam and then depart.
The audio clip is cut off at this point.
