The Intelligence Bureau’s request to rescind its objection to the bench hearing the issue of the audio leaks was rejected by the Islamabad High Court on Friday.
Justice Babar Sattar of IHC dismissed the request made by IB today, just days after the court penalized three other government departments for their individual petitions.
Three government departments were each fined Rs 500,000 by the court earlier this week, and their individual petitions on the subject were dismissed.
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), and Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) were among the government departments hit with fines. Although the IB was not fined at the time, the court did call its Joint Director General Tariq Mehmood for the case’s subsequent hearing.
In the meantime, Justice Sattar is hearing the audio leak case, which involves Bushra Bibi, the wife of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, and the son of former chief justice Saqib Nisar. The case arose in 2023.
The IB wishes to drop its plea objecting to Justice Sattar’s appointment to the bench, the assistant attorney general told the court.
“Your petition for an objection has already been denied. You will receive the application’s dismissal order, should it be issued,” Justice Sattar stated.
In light of the notification in the court’s dismissal decision, the judge alluded to finding DG IB in contempt of court.
