In Pakistan, when the mother-in-law of a Chief Justice and the wife of a top political lawyer catch up over the phone, politics, polls and martial law take precedence, over lunch dates and tea parties.
Another leaked audio tape of the Pakistani elite has hit the headlines, calling into question the country’s security apparatus and igniting fresh blame-game between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government and former premier Imran Khan’s supporters.
The new audio that surfaced Sunday is allegedly between Mahjabeen Noon, the mother-in-law of Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial, and Rafia Tariq, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawyer Khawaja Tariq Rahim’s wife. The two women are heard discussing snap polls in Pakistan, their support for the chief justice and their resentment towards the incumbent Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government.
Mahjabeen airs her concern for the chief justice – saying she has been praying for him – and also vouches her support to Bandial amid fresh tension between the judiciary and the government after the top judge ordered elections in Punjab on 14 May.
A three-member bench of Justice Bandial and Justices Ijaz Ul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar on 4 April rejected a petition by the Defence Ministry to hold elections in Punjab along with the rest of the country later this year. Thus, opening another chapter of dissent between the judiciary, the government and the military.
A woman purported to be Mahjabeen is heard wishing that the elections would be held at the earliest. To which Rafia replies: “Elections… see if they don’t happen then assume there will be (martial law). They (ruling PDM) cannot stay, that’s it.”
“They are not even ready to impose martial law,” Mahjabeen is heard saying, to which Rafia replies: “They are ready.”
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Imran’s demand for snap elections
Former Prime Minister Imran Khan — who was ousted from office in a constitutional vote of no-confidence last April — has been holding protest rallies to demand a snap election, but his successor Shehbaz Sharif has rejected his call.
Khan responded by dissolving the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies, where his party PTI was in power. The top court then stepped in and demanded the election commission make arrangements for polls on 14 May, much to the angst of the ruling government.
In Sunday’s leaked audio, the two women also talk about thousands of people attending a rally in Lahore, when Rafia Tariq says she sent a message to Umar (the Chief Justice) informing him that Mahjabeen was present in it. “I have told people as well and sent a message to Umar. I said that you were present at the Lahore rally. There were hundreds and thousands of people. Similarly, there are hundreds and thousands of 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,” Geo News quotes from the transcript.
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PDM, PTI face-off following leak
Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) Ata Tarar shared the audio clip on his Twitter account, saying, “The Constitution and law have been trampled for the sake of families. The families of Chief Sahib and two colleagues are trying to bring Imran Niazi to power by holding early elections along with attending (political) rallies.”
Incidentally, the leaks started on 24 September last year with multiple files of purported conversations between Sharif discussing official matters with his senior ministers.
Sharif called the leaks a “very serious lapse” and announced the formation of a high-powered committee to probe the incident.
There has been no official statement on how the audio files were leaked or who recorded them in the first place.
PTI Senior vice-President Fawad Chaudhry reiterated his party’s demand Sunday that the Supreme Court look into “the disastrous series of audio leaks”.
“The Prime Minister’s Office is so insecure that the meeting is being recorded… so who else will be safe… Now, judges, politicians, civil servants and even housewives are victims of this third class thinking and no one can do anything?” he wrote on the micro-blogging site.
(Edited by Anurag Chaubey)