Isa-led panel also objects to leaks bench.

ISLAMABAD -- After the federal government, the judicial commission probing into some leaked audio clips involving some serving and former judges and their family members has also raised objection to composition of a Supreme Court bench hearing pleas against the commission.

'One of the audio clips allegedly pertains to the mother-in-law of the honorable chief justice [of Pakistan]. Honorable Mr Justice Munib Akhtar may also be mentioned in the said recording.

'And in another audio recording reference is made to case fixation before a particular bench headed by honorable Mr Justice Ijazul Ahsan,' said a concise statement submitted by the commission's secretary Hafeezullah Khajjak to the Supreme Court on Wednesday.

On May 20, the federal government formed a three-man judicial commission, led by SC's senior puisne judge Qazi Faez Isa, to probe into the genuineness of over half a dozen audios that surfaced in the last few months.

A number of petitioners challenged formation of the commission and on May 27 a Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial and comprising four other judges including Justice Akhtar and Justice Ahsan suspended proceedings of the commission.

In its concise statement submitted to the court on Tuesday, the federal government requested the CJP as well as Justice Ahsan and Justice Akhtar to recuse themselves from hearing the case in view of 'conflict of interests'.

The commission's statement said the oath taken by the CJ and judges of the Supreme Court and high courts require them to act 'in accordance with the Constitution...and the law.'

'They are required to 'abide by the code of conduct issued by the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) and not to allow 'their personal interest to influence' their 'official conduct' or 'official decisions'.

It argued that the Inquiry Commission Act, 2017 grants the federal government the power, under section 3(2) to constitute inquiry commissions.

'The act does not stipulate that the government must consult with the CJP before it constitutes a commission. The act also does not grant the CJP the power to nominate members of the commission.

'Merely because the government may elect to consult the CJP does not mean that it has to. The act has existed for over six years and to the best of the knowledge of the undersigned, no challenge to it or specifically to its section 3(2) has been made,' said...