The Pakistan audio leaks controversy stems from several leaked audio conversations involving Pakistan's prime minister

Shehbaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif (Urdu, Punjabi: , ; born 23 September 1951) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who is currently serving as the 23rd Prime Minister of Pakistan, in office since 11 April 2022. He is the current president of ...

and former prime minister

Imran Khan Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi ( ur}; born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician and former Cricket captain who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 2018 to until April 2022, when he was ousted through a no-confidenc ...

among others. The leaks began on 24 September 2022, when multiple audio files of purported conversations, allegedly recorded in the Prime Minister's Office, surfaced online. On 28 September 2022, a National Security Committee (NSC) meeting was convened to discuss matters related to national security, including the audio leaks.

Audio leaks case

In May 2023, Najam Saqib, son of former chief justice of Pakistan

Saqib Nisar Mian Saqib Nisar ( ur, ; born 18 January 1954) is a Pakistani jurist who served as the 25th Chief Justice of Pakistan from 31 December 2016 till 17 January 2019. He has previously served as the Law Secretary. He also served as a visiting prof ...

, filed a petition in the

Islamabad High Court The Islamabad High Court is the senior court of the Islamabad Capital Territory, Pakistan, with appellate jurisdiction over the following district courts: * Islamabad District Court (East) * Islamabad District Court (West) Justice Aamer Far ...

(IHC) against a National Assembly committee tasked with investigating his purported audio leak. In September 2023,

Bushra Bibi Bushra Bibi Khan () is the third spouse of Imran Khan, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan. She and Khan married six months before he assumed office as Prime Minister. Early life Bushra Bibi was born to a conservative, politically influential ...

filed a petition in the

(IHC) over the issue of an alleged phone conversation leak between her and the former prime minister

’s special assistant

Zulfi Bukhari Sayed Zulfikar Abbas Bukhari (born 3 December 1980), also known as Zulfi Bukhari, is a Pakistani multi-millionaire businessman, politician and film producer. He served as a Special Assistant to Prime Minister Imran Khan in the capacity of a Mi ...

. On 12 September 2023, the IHC clubbed the petition of Bushra Bibi with the identical petition of Najam Saqib in the audio leaks case. In April 2024, the

Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) ( ur, ) is an independent and constitutionally established federal institution responsible for regulating and issuing channel licenses for establishment of the mass media culture, print a ...

(PEMRA), the

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) ( ur, ) is the telecommunication regulator of Pakistan, responsible for the establishment, operation and maintenance of telecommunication systems and the provision of telecommunication services in ...

(PTA), the

Federal Investigation Agency The Federal Investigation Agency ( ur, ; reporting name: FIA) is a border control, criminal investigation, counter-intelligence and security agency under the control of the Interior Secretary of Pakistan, tasked with investigative jurisdictio ...

(FIA) and the Intelligence Bureau (IB) requested the recusal of Justice

Babar Sattar Babar ( ur, ), also variously spelled as Baber, Babur, and Babor is a male given name of Pashto, and Persian origin, and a popular male given name in Pakistan. It is generally taken in reference to the Persian ''babr'' (Persian: ببر), meaning ...

from hearing audio leaks’ case. On 29 April, Justice Sattar rejected pleas from the PEMRA, PTA and the FIA requesting his recusal and imposed fines of Rs 500,000 on each of the institutions. On 3 May, it emerged that the IHC had also dismissed the IB’s plea seeking the judge's recusal. On 29 May 2024, the IHC issued a

restraining order A restraining order or protective order, is an order used by a court to protect a person in a situation involving alleged domestic violence, child abuse, assault, harassment, stalking, or sexual assault. Restraining and personal protection or ...

with regard to accessing data of consumers and its use. It restrained telecom companies from

phone tapping Telephone tapping (also wire tapping or wiretapping in American English) is the monitoring of telephone and Internet-based conversations by a third party, often by covert means. The wire tap received its name because, historically, the monitorin ...

for surveillance. On 25 June 2024, the IHC rejected the government's plea for the in-chamber hearing of the audio leaks case. On 5 July, the federal government filed an appeal in the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

under Article 185(3) of the constitution against the IHC’s order.

References

{{Reflist 2022 in Pakistani politics September 2022 events in Pakistan