After a SC injunction, Justice Isa’s commission terminates operations.

ISLAMABAD : A day after the Supreme Court issued an injunction, the Audio Leaks Commission halted further proceedings on Saturday.

Justice Faez Isa, the chair of the court panel established to look into the situation, said they had been prevented from proceeding with the process without even being given notice to them before making a written order in this context.

Justice Isa criticised Mansoor Usman, Pakistan’s attorney general, for failing to present the matter to the Supreme Court and said that the commission would not have any additional hearings but would instead issue the directive for Saturday’s discussions.

The statements were made when the hearing was restarted by the three-member panel, which also included Chief Justices of the Balochistan High Court and the Islamabad High Court, Amir Farooq and Tariq Afghan.

The hearings of the audio leaks panel on Friday were stopped by an order issued by the five-member Supreme Court bench, which is presided over by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial.

The parties concerned in a case must be heard by the Supreme Court before an order is made, Justice Isa said, adding, “I also understand the constitution somewhat. In this case, the commission is a party. Why there hasn’t been a notice issued for it.”

In addition, he questioned the attorney general why he was in the courtroom on Friday and instructed him to submit a copy of any court orders that had been issued. “Were you given a notice or just happened to be sitting there?”

Mr. Awan retorted that he had received a verbal order to appear in court and that a formal notice had been given after the hearing. Justice Isa said that if a referral was made against a judge based on any accusation, the judge would be subject to the repercussions for the rest of his life.

The senior judge said he may not have any objections to the commission’s procedures as he called Abdul Qayyum Siddiqui to the podium.

Shoaib Shaheen and Abid Zubairi didn’t even bother to show up for the proceedings on Saturday. Were they not expected to announce the order that was approved on Friday?

Justice Isa referred to the oath when he said that the Commission of Inquiry Act had been used to establish the inquiry commission and that the justices were solely answerable to Allah Almighty.

The senior judge interrogating Shoaib said that by appearing on television, Shoaib was breaking the Lawyers Practise and Procedure Act. “They want to instruct us in law. A lawyer is not allowed to discuss his case with the media, per the guidelines.

He said that the petitioners had informed them that a stay order prevented them from hearing the case. He said that the attorneys’ code of conduct had been abandoned.

Justice Isa said, “We will now be warned via TV discussion programmes that we are breaking the law, and he pointed out that the judges could not respond in TV shows.

He insisted that it be determined who was disseminating the audio files and whether they were authentic or not. The individuals who appeared in the leaks may have leaked the audios.

He said that there had been mention of paying a judge, but a stay order had been granted to halt the inquiry, and it could only be determined when the case was investigated.

He questioned the attorney general for failing to bring up these issues in front of the supreme court on Friday, saying that privacy only applied to one’s house and that no one could intrude. But he questioned if the exterior cameras that were capturing everything were likewise an invasion of privacy.