Pakistan's Chief Justice wants to track down a Twitter handle. Here's why

The Chief Justice of Pakistan, Umar Ata Bandial, on Wednesday, asked the Attorney General of Pakistan to "Check out Indibell's Twitter handle, is it operating from outside the country or inside the country?"

CJP Bandial's remarks came when the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) heard a clutch of petitions against forming a judicial commission to probe audio leaks involving members of Pakistan's higher judiciary.

Here is what has happened so far and why the CJP wants to know more about an anonymous Twitter handle.

Part 1 - Audio leaks

A series of audio leaks have sparked much controversy in Pakistan, raising concerns about the neutrality of the higher judiciary in the country. The audio leaks have sometimes (allegedly) involved members of the higher judiciary in Pakistan or their family members.

 

The audio leaks have also targeted several political figures, including ex-PM Imran Khan, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) head, and the current PM Shehbaz Sharif.

Part 2 - The context

Ex-PM Imran Khan has faced a number of cases in various high courts or the SCP since he was pushed out of office after losing a no-confidence vote in 2022. In nearly every case, the former PM has been granted relief by the high courts or the SC. This has attracted allegations of favouritism against the higher judiciary.

In such a background, the audio leaks (purportedly involving judges of the high courts, Supreme Court or their family members) paint a picture of partisanship.

According to reports, in one such call, the mother-in-law of CJP Bandial is alleged to be in conversation with a lawyer from Imran Khan's party, PTI, where they discussed a case in the court of the CJP that involved the PTI as well.

Other leaks allegedly involve a sitting SC judge who has presided over cases related to the PTI in benches along with the CJP.

These audio leaks have invited allegations of favouritism from the incumbent Pakistan government.

Part 3 - The judicial commission

In response to the number of audio leaks, the Pakistan government formed a three-member high-powered judicial commission to investigate the veracity of these audio leaks. The members of this commission included the second seniormost justice of the SC of Pakistan, Justice Qazi Faiz Esa (next in line to be the CJP) and the chief justices of the Balochistan and Islamabad High Courts.

Part 4 - The conflict of interest

Pleas were filed against the formation of this judicial commission in the SCP. A five-judge bench headed by the CJP Bandial stayed the proceedings of the judicial commission.

The Pakistani government has objected to this move by the CJP-led bench. It alleges a conflict of interest since the CJP's family members and another judge in this five-judge bench are direct parties whose audio leaks have surfaced.

Part 5 - The Twitter handle

Instead of recusing from the case because of a conflict of interest, the CJP-led bench wants to learn more about the Twitter handle that has put these audio leaks out in the public domain on the micro-blogging platform.

CJP Bandial wants the Pakistan government to utilise all its resources to track this Twitter handle down.

The court adjourned the hearing indefinitely to deliberate on the government's plea seeking the reconstitution of the bench.

The audio leaks have increased tensions between the government and the apex court and caused distrust between the public and government officials. Furthermore, it seems no one is safe from the audio leaks, which has stirred many theories regarding who may be responsible for the leaks.