Audio leaks: Imran urges judiciary to take notice

LAHORE Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan has urged the judiciary to notice of tapping phones and audio leaks, terming them a violation of basic human rights.

While addressing a speech via video link flanked by Yasmin Rashid, Khan stressed the need for the implementation of the law in connection with the leaked audio tapes, saying, “There is a law in the country regarding the audio tape.”

The former premier castigated the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government over the recent audio leak of former Punjab health minister, saying that these people were using audio tapes to achieve political goals. Imran Khan said that every citizen has the rights to speak to the police, adding that such audios were being leaked to remove Lahore Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Ghulam Dogar. He pointed out that tapping anyone’s phone was a violation of Constitution and law, adding that permission of Interior Ministry and court was required for tapping phone.

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He regretted that his phone was tapped when he was the Prime Minister of Pakistan, saying that his conversation with former principal secretary Azam Khan was edited and released. Imran Khan urged the judiciary to take notice of the phone tapping and audio leak, terming the act a violation of human rights. The PTI chief also alleged that the phones were being tapped to blackmail the judiciary.

Khan recalled four months ago, the petition was filed in the Supreme Court (SC) regarding the audio tape.

Meanwhile, Rashid lamented the evidence regarding the assassination attempt on Khan was not being presented. She said, “The former CCPO was the JIT’s convener over the assassination attempt on the PTI chief. The PDM had disappeared along with the evidence in connection with the Wazirabad incident”.

The audio leak comes a day after the Supreme Court reinstated Ghulam Mahmood Dogar as the CCPO after suspending his transfer order made by Mohsin Naqvi led interim Punjab govt.

“Imran Khan is concerned about your reinstatement,” a woman, believed to be Yasmin Rashid, can be heard speaking to another person believed to be CCPO Lahore. “I had told Khan sahab that orders were yet not received,” she said in a telephonic conversation. In the alleged clip, the person believed to be Ghulam Dogar, flagged signatures of judges on post carrying orders as the reason behind the delay. The man assures the woman that he had his man at the apex court.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023