Tag: Justice Babar Sattar

  • PTI gets permission to hold jalsa on July 6

    PTI gets permission to hold jalsa on July 6

     The Islamabad district administration has allowed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to hold a public rally at Tarnol Chowk in Islamabad on July 6, ARY News has reported.

    After the issuance of the NOC, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) dismissed the plea filed by PTI leader Amir Masood Mughal.

    Justice Babar Sattar heard the petition and remarked that the Islamabad district administration allowed PTI to hold a power show, and the party should stop creating more problems now.

    PTI leader Shoaib Shaheen said that the party needed more time to arrange the public rally. Justice Babar Sattar said the party is big enough to organise everything within a few hours.

    Earlier, the capital city’s administration rejected PTI’s request to hold a public rally in Islamabad against rigging in the February 8 general elections amid security concerns.

  • Court fines FIA, PTA, PEMRA Rs. 500,000 each

    Court fines FIA, PTA, PEMRA Rs. 500,000 each

    The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday fined FIA, PTA, and PEMRA Rs500,000 each while also dismissing their petitions regarding Justice Babar Sattar’s recusal from the audio leaks case.

    Last week, PEMRA filed a petition asking that Justice Babar recuse himself from hearing the case.

    At least four departments filed the applications and said that petitions of Bushra Bibi, Imran Khan’s wife, and former CJP Saqib Nisar’s son Najamul Saqib should be placed before the same bench that had decided an identical matter in 2021.

    Justice Sattar had been hearing the audio leaks case ever since it surfaced in 2023.

    Now interestingly, the applications by the four departments came after a letter by six IHC judges, including Babar Sattar, was written to the Supreme Judicial Council alleging interference by spy agencies in judicial matters.

    Separately, on April 28, a press release was published by the IHC condemning the “malicious campaign against Justice Babar Sattar” on social media.

    Press-Release-Babar-Sattar-Latest-Final_240428_135444Download

    Allegations of dual citizenship and Sattar’s mother’s business enterprises abound. However, the IHC wholly defended Justice Babar Sattar saying that “confidential information” of the judge has been posted on social media.

  • Aakhir kaun kar raha hai audio recordings?

    Aakhir kaun kar raha hai audio recordings?

    During a court hearing, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) reported its inability to trace the source of audio leaks.

    The court was addressing pleas filed by Saqib Nisar’s son and Bushra Bibi, wife of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, concerning leaked audio conversations.

    Justice Babar Sattar of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) questioned why the ISI filed its report through the Ministry of Defence, prompting Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan to suggest that the intelligence agency should have submitted the report through the Prime Minister’s Office.

    The ISI report indicated that the investigation required assistance from social media platforms.

    “Any government agency conducting such recordings is doing so unlawfully,” AGP Mansoor Usman Awan said as he submitted a report on behalf of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

    Awan emphasized that no intelligence agency, including the ISI, Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), and Intelligence Bureau (IB), was authorized by the federal government to tap audio conversations.

    Presiding over the single-member bench, Justice Babar Sattar remarked that it was now the federal government’s responsibility to decide how they want to proceed with the case. “If the government does not disclose [who is tapping the calls], then we may seek assistance from national and international judicial bodies.”

    The FIA needs to review the case first to determine who conducted the call recording. “After court orders, the FIA is sending notices to telecommunication companies,” AGP Awan told the court.

    “The FIA needs access to IP addresses. If any government agency is conducting these recordings, it is doing so unlawfully,” he reiterated.

    The court was informed by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) lawyer that TV channels were prohibited from broadcasting private audio leaks.

    Addressing senior lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan during the hearing, Justice Sattar said: “There is a balance between freedom of information and privacy. How should this case be moved forward?”

    Aitzaz suggested that self-regulation should be in place, as the Constitution is not being followed here. “The Constitution has not been implemented in 90 days, despite the election announcement.”

    The court instructed the AGP to check if there was any news that the Intelligence Bureau (IB) was given the authority to record priviate conversations. To which he said he would check and report back.

    The court directed the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) , FIA, and other parties to re-file their responses for the next hearing.

    The court directed the Attorney General to investigate whether the Intelligence Bureau (IB) had the authority to record calls, and the AGP committed to providing the court with the necessary information.

    Additionally, the IHC instructed the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to submit a detailed report at the next hearing.

    If the government failed to provide the required information, the court expressed its intention to appoint national and international amici curiae for the investigation.

    It was also decided that senior journalists would be appointed as amici curiae to provide insights into the matter related to the code of conduct for TV channels.

  • IHC orders DG ISI to submit a report on Bushra-Khosa audio leak

    IHC orders DG ISI to submit a report on Bushra-Khosa audio leak

    The Director-General of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lieutenant General Nadeem Anjum has been ordered by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to submit a report on who is responsible for an alleged audio leak between the former first lady Bushra Bibi and her lawyer, Latif Khosa, Geo has reported.  

    The court also asked the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to do  forensics of the leaked audio between Bushra Bibi and Latif Khosa to know about the origin of its release.  

    Justice Babar Sattar of the IHC said during a hearing of a plea filed by Latif Khosa that a copy of the petition be sent to DG ISI, seeking a report on who is behind the audio leak.

    The court also issued notices to FIA, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), seeking their response on the matter.

    The hearing was then adjourned till December 11.

    Later, while leaving the courtroom, Justice Sattar said, “Big Boss is listening to everything, you must know this.”

    He then went on to ask who was recording the audio, in reply to which Khosa said, “Everyone knows who records.”