The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has directed the director general of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to present a report on who leaked the audio clip of a private conversation between former prime minister Imran Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi and her lawyer Latif Khosa.
The high court was hearing a case against the leak of a phone call between the two. It also ordered the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to conduct a forensic exam of the audio clip.
The IHC also issued notices to the FIA, PEMRA and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and adjourned the hearing until December 11.
The court overruled the objections to the petition. Justice Babar Sattar asked what the registrar office’s objection to the application was. The lawyer replied that the objection was to file a separate application and not a miscellaneous one.
Khosa said a separate application could be filed in the audio leaks case. Counsel-client communication is privileged, he added.
“The Big Boss is listening to everything. You should know that,” Justice Sattar remarked, which evoked laughter in the courtroom.
The judge asked PEMRA to explain how private conversations between two individuals were being aired on TV channels.
“Who is recording the conversations?" he questioned.
Latif Khosa replied that everyone knew who was recording the telephone conversations.
Justice Sattar remarked that they could not rely on assumptions and asked if the conversation had been leaked to social media.
Khosa replied that the audio was broadcast by all the TV channels.
“Was it first released on Twitter (now X) or somewhere else? Once we find out where it was released, it can be determined who recorded it,” the judge remarked.
Also Read: Audio controversy: Latif Khosa, Bushra Bibi's private conversation leaked
Latif Khosa said that PEMRA usually took channels off-air for even naming someone. “No one tells me my phone isn’t safe,” he added.
The court then directed PEMRA to share a copy of the forensic exam as well as the application with the ISI DG. It also asked the DG to submit a report as to who released the audio.
The court said it should be investigated where the audio was first released from .
Khosa said this was not just his problem but that of lawyers in the entire country. If a lawyer cannot talk to his client freely, how the justice system will work, he questioned.
The hearing was adjourned till December 11.
On November 30, a purported audio leak between Bushra Bibi and Latif Khosa had emerged. The leak suggested potential discord within Imran Khan's family, especially with him currently in custody.
In the audio, Bushra Bibi discusses an incident involving Khan's sisters complaining about Khosa's alleged misconduct related to a case.
In the leaked audio, Bushra Bibi indicates that she informed Khan's sisters about her decision to engage Khosa as her lawyer. She mentions that she conveyed to them that all her cases would now be handled by Khosa.
The ex-first lady reveals that Khan's sisters accused Khosa of misbehaving with them during a meeting at his office, where they protested against including the poisoning claim in the petition filed in the Islamabad High Court.
