‘That kambakht isn’t ready to impose martial law’: CJP mother-in-law’s alleged audio causes political storm

ISLAMABAD: An alleged audio leak of Mahjabeen Noon, the mother-in-law of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, has created a political storm and sparked another controversy.

In the alleged audio conversation, she could be heard talking to Rafia Tariq, the wife of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawyer, Khawaja Tariq Raheem. In the purported audio, the two women could be heard discussing snap polls, their support for the chief justice and their resentment towards the incumbent government.

The audio went viral on social media on Sunday, in which Mahjabeen is heard talking about the safety and well-being of the CJP. She also expressed her frustration over the Punjab elections issue and called those opposing the electoral process traitors.

Rafia Tariq responds by saying that taking suo motu is a right of the chief justice of Pakistan. Mahjabeen says it was not only the incumbent chief justice but also the previous chief justices who exercised the power.

Transcript of the audio call:-

Mahjabeen: Hello Rafia, what is going to happen? I have been praying for Umar [Ata Bandial] since last night; I can’t tell you [how much I] have been praying since the morning.

Rafia Tariq: I have told people as well and sent a message to Umar. I said that you were present at the Lahore rally. There were hundreds and thousands of people. Similarly, there are hundreds and thousands of people in every city. And you just [try to] estimate how much the world is praying for you right now, which will [increase] your strength and your safety.

[Inaudible]

Rafia Tariq: No no... his safety is a must.

Mahjabeen: Weaken them and strengthen them.

Rafia: May Allah make the others blind. That’s what I am saying. They are… they are traitors of this country. Look at the way they are doing it.

Mahjabeen: Exactly. But now they are saying why he got the authority to do it.

Rafia: No, but no, no, no.

Mahjabeen: They are deliberately giving an advantage by putting other things there now.

Rafia: There is no other thing.

Mahjabeen: And also questioning why has suo motu been taken.

Rafia: That’s his right.

Mahjabeen: Umar hasn’t been given [suo motu powers]; it had happened earlier.

Rafia: No, but it’s the right of every chief justice. If you have to change the law, then change them in your […time], not at this time.

Mahjabeen: No, but they can’t change them now.

Rafia: Not now. They can change it later, but not now. The law is there.

Mahjabeen: Law is there. Exactly.

Rafia: Yeah. Exactly. [inaudible]

Mahjabeen: [I told his wife and kids] You don’t come at all. You stay with Umar. He needs you at this moment.

Rafia: No. Not even Naveen should come and I have told Iman that “beta stay with abba all the time”.

Mahjabeen: Yeah, exactly.

Rafia: At night, I… at night... at night I sent something to them both, him and Muneeb. You know what he sent me [back]? The face that you make while biting the tongue. He was telling me to be careful. Why should I be careful? Why?

Mahjabeen: Elections should be held at the earliest.

Rafia: Elections… see if they don’t happen then assume there will be [martial law]. They [PDM govt] cannot stay [anymore], that’s it.

Mahjabeen: That kambhakt isn’t ready to impose martial law.

Rafia: They are ready.

The audio leak sparked a heated debate on the social media and some people criticised CJP’s mother-in-law for interfering in political matters. However, others defended her over her expression of concern about her son-in-law’s safety.

Federal Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said, “Are the political decisions being taken according to the wishes of the family members?” They are trying to create division in the nation, he said and demanded a forensic audit of the audio. He demanded that the Supreme Court (SC) should take suo motu notice of the alleged audio leak. “If women of the party provoke the party workers to treason, then people will talk about it also,” Rana Sana remarked. He regretted that decisions were being made on the basis of ego and stubbornness.

Sana underlined it should be ascertained if the conversation was fake or original. If it was correct, then the matter should be investigated. He said those at the centre of the conversation should tender their resignations. In the conversation, the CJP was being asked to take an immediate decision, he added.

Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) Chief Organiser Maryam Nawaz also expressed concern that decisions were being made based on the likes and dislikes of wives and mothers-in-law rather than on the basis of the Constitution and the law. She warned that such an approach could lead to sedition and chaos and would make development and progress nothing more than a dream.

Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) Ata Tarar shared the audio clip on his Twitter account, saying that he was sure about the deep conspiracy after hearing the audio clip. “The Constitution and law have been trampled for the sake of families. The families of Chief Sahib and two colleagues are trying to bring Imran Niazi to power by holding early elections along with attending [political] rallies,” Tarar tweeted.

Reacting to the alleged audio leak, PTI Senior Vice-President Fawad Chaudhry said “such illegal phone tapping is punishable by up to three years in prison under the fair trial law.” He said his party had repeatedly asked the SC to “look into the disastrous series of audio leaks” after phone calls from the PM Office and PM House were released in the past. “The Prime Minister’s Office is so insecure that the meeting is being recorded; so who else will be safe?” he wrote on the micro-blogging site.

He added that even after the passage of several months, the application had not been filed in the Supreme Court. “Now, judges, politicians, civil servants and even housewives are falling victim to the third class thinking and no one could do anything,” he tweeted.