Govt to conduct forensic audit of Shaukat Tareen's audio leak

ISLAMABAD: Law and Justice Minister Azam Nazir Tarar on Wednesday said that the government will conduct a forensic audit of Shaukat Tareen's call with Punjab Finance Minister Mohsin Leghari and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Finance Minister Taimur Khan Jhagra in which he directed them to cite recent floods as a core reason for withdrawing from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal.

During a press conference, the law minister said that action will be taken once the audit's report is received by the government.

"PTI's former finance minister did not even obey to his oath," Tarar said, adding that the Tareen's actions come under treason against the state.

To take action against the conduct is under discussion between the law and interior ministry.

"Politics was prioritised, while the state was pushed behind," the minister added.

Commenting on the ongoing contempt of court case against PTI chief Imran Khan for threatening additional session judge Zeba Chaudhry, Tarar hoped that the court makes a fair decision.

Tarar said that lawyers have always raised their voice when the judiciary's sanctity was attacked.

"Everyone should be treated equally according to the constitution," the minister said, adding that equal implementation of laws is a constitutional requirement.

Criticising Imran Khan for his remarks against the female judge, Tarar said that words uttered by a former prime minister should be calculated.

"Female members of the bar association said that such language has never been tolerated in the past," the law and justice minister said, calling Chaudhry a daughter of Pakistan.

The minister said it was surprising to know that Khan said he thought Zeba Chaudhry was a magistrate and not a session judge. He added that Khan shouldn’t have spoken if he didn’t know about the matter.

Targeting Khan for lambasting state institutions including the judiciary, Tarar said that the PTI leader should think whether he is even fit to lead the country or not.

The minister said that PML-N leaders including Talal Chaudhry, Daniyal Aziz, Nihal Hashmi, and Sheikh Waseem were also punished for contempt of court in the past and were not allowed to resubmit their responses.

He recalled that other politicians in the past have even been imprisoned for similar cases.

"This benchmark should be considered in this case as well, like it was done in the past," he said, stressing that someone who has committed contempt of court cannot be left unpunished.

"Laws must be implemented to ensure that Imran Khan is not being favoured," the minister added.