Azam Tarar says govt to conduct forensic audit of Tarin-IMF audio leaks

Islamabad: The federal government has decided to conduct a forensic audit of audio leaks that were linked to former finace minister and PTI Senator Shaukat Tarin about the crucial International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme. 

Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad, , Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said the consultation with the interior and law ministries were underway. "We have decided on a forensic audit of the audio conversations and once the consultative process is complete, it will be acted upon and action taken as per the law.”

He said legal action would be taken against those who “raised their hands against the state or spoke against its interests”.

Terming the affair “very painful”, the minister said the former finance minister’s conversation and direction amounted to “hypocrisy and sedition” against the state and its interests.

On Monday, two audio clips surfaced via TV channels and social media in which a man said to be Tarin can be heard guiding Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab’s finance ministers to tell the federal government and the IMF that they would not be able to commit to a provincial budget surplus in light of the recent floods that have wreaked havoc in Pakistan.

Last week, KP Finance Minister Taimur Khan Jagra had written a letter to the Ministry of Finance conveying his administration’s inability to provide a provincial surplus this year.

The audios sparked criticism against the PTI as the ruling coalition alleged that they were nothing but a conspiracy to derail the government’s deal with the global lender.

Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said that those who work against the interests of the state would be dealt with with iron hands. Provision of equal justice to all citizens of the country was a constitutional requirement, he added.

He said that a person guilty of contempt of court could not be released without punishment. He said that whenever the voice was raised for the supremacy of law, the lawyers played the role of vanguard.

He said that the legislators enacted the Contempt of Court Act to avoid disruption in the judicial system and to ensure decisions in accordance with the constitution and law. He said that it had never happened before in the country’s history that the person who insulted the court was not punished.

He said that Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani was dismissed as Prime Minister for contempt of court and lost his membership of Parliament in 2012. In 2017, Talal Chaudhry, Daniyal Aziz and Nihal Hashmi were sentenced for contempt of court in three cases and they had also lost their membership of the assembly. MNA Waseem Sheikh, some lawyers and citizens were sentenced for contempt of court, he added.

He said that the decisions of the high courts should be fair and there should be continuity and uniformity in them as this would develop the judicial system and bring transparency.

The federal minister said that a larger bench had been constituted in the case of contempt of court against PTI Chairman Imran Khan. The Hon’ble Court, showing leniency, had given Imran Khan another opportunity to file his reply, he added.

He said that the court had declined request in the case of Talal Chaudhry and Waseem Sheikh and no opportunity was given to file the reply again.

Tarar said that the female judge whom Imran Khan criticized was the daughter of Pakistan, and women lawyers had expressed concern over the issue of criticizing her.

He said that the conversation of the former prime minister should be decent. Imran Khan threatened all the institutions including the courts and the Chief Election Commissioner, he added.

Tarar said that Imran Khan criticized the judiciary in 2015, on which he was warned by the court and an affidavit was taken from him, despite this, he criticized judiciary several times.

He said that the law would take its course on this matter. Imran Khan’s case should be decided in the same way as the cases of other politicians were decided in the past, he added.

He expressed hope that the Islamabad High Court would decide the case of Imran Khan keeping in view the past decisions of the Supreme Court and the High Court.

The minister said the UK had asked for a report from the National Crime Agency on the matter related to 54 billion rupees and action would be taken according to law after receiving the report.