Audio leaks case: IHC bins FIA, PTA, PEMRA’s pleas, slaps Rs 500,000 fine each

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad High Court (IHC) Monday rejected pleas from the FIA, PTA, and PEMRA in the Bushra Bibi audio leaks case regarding the bench hearing of the case.

While dismissing their requests, IHC imposed hefty fines of Rs 500,000 on each of the aforementioned government institutions.

The court also hinted that contempt of court proceedings may also be initiated against the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

The court also summoned Joint Director General of Intelligence Bureau (IB) Tariq Mehmood and sought a response regarding the matter at the next hearing of the case.

READ MORE: Alleged Audio Leak of Bushra Bibi and Latif Khosa

PEMRA, PTA, FIA, and IB had filed separate applications requesting that the petition of Imran Khan’s wife and Najamul Saqib should also be placed before the bench that had decided an identical matter in 2021 and the recusal of Justice Babar Sattar.

Bushra Bibi’s lawyer Latif Khosa and Najam Saqib, the son of former CJP Justice Saqib Nisar, filed a petition against a parliamentary committee formed to probe the audio leaks.

The leaked audio allegedly involving Bushra Bibi and Najam Saqib surfaced in April 2023 and it was claimed that Saqib Nisar could be heard demanding a “reward” for a job done for a PTI ticket candidate.