Legacy of leaks

The audio clip of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz and former information minister Pervaiz Rashid – in which they could be heard making objectionable comments about some journalists – is the last in a series of controversial audio and video clips that have been used as a political tool in the recent years.

In the fresh clip leaked a few days back, Maryam Nawaz and Pervaiz Rashid could be heard using derogatory language about some media persons, who were part of a private television channel.

This leaked audio seemed to be recorded in October 2016 following the return of the then prime minister Nawaz Sharif from an official visit to Azerbaijan.

In the audio clip, Maryam while talking to Rashid over the telephone gave directions to someone near her to send some gifts that her father had brought from Azerbaijan to two Islamabad based journalists. By that time, Panama Papers had surfaced and Nawaz Sharif was not comfortable with the establishment.

The so-called “Dawn leaks” had already hurt the civil-military relations to a great extent. The Dawn leaks refer to a controversial news report telling the alleged inside story of a civil-military huddle in which Nawaz Sharif had warned the military leaders against allegedly supporting militancy.

The report had whipped up a storm and the government had later to “sacrifice” information minister Pervaiz Rashid, special assistant to PM on foreign affairs Tariq Fatemi and principal information officer Rao Tahsin.  However, even this move had failed to restore trust between the civil and military leaders.

It was the third audiotape to be leaked in the last couple of months.

In November last year an audiotape was leaked in which Maryam was directing someone to stop giving advertisements to Channel 24, Samaa, 92 News and ARY. She later admitted the tape was genuine.

When a barrage of criticism came from media houses, the PML-N leaders had given a twist to her admission saying that the matter was concerning the advertisements to be given by the party to the media houses and she was not talking about the government advertisements.

Earlier another audiotape was leaked in which Maryam Nawaz was praising her media management team. She purportedly said; “look at my media management. Geo News and Dunya News have ruined them.” Maryam had avoided any clear comment on the matter and simply said that it was an old clip from the time when she was looking after the PML-N media cell.

In 2014, with the approval of the then prime minister, the Strategic Media Communication Cell (SMCC) was established at the Prime Minister’s House under Maryam Nawaz.

The SMCC was established to counter the PTI’s propaganda against the PML-N government, especially on social media. At that time it was believed that the PTI supporters were quite active on social media and influencing the public at large.

It was believed that the cell had not only hired a large number of educated youth for campaigning for the PML-N government on social media but also journalists working in the mainstream electronic and print media.

Reaction

Reacting sharply to the recent audio leak, PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb demanded an investigation into the matter. “It must be probed as to who had recorded a private conversation in sheer violation of the law of privacy guaranteed to citizens under the Constitution.”

She said there was nothing against the state in the audio tape and it seemed that it was only leaked to distort the image of the party leaders and to divert the attention of the people from the real issues.

PML-N leaders like Talal Chaudhry also came in defense of Maryam and Rashid. Instead of talking about the contents of their conversation, he tried to prove that it was a conspiracy against the PML-N.

He said it was an attempt to divert the attention of the media as well as the people of Pakistan from the outcome of the Foreign Funding case in which the PTI and Imran Khan “are found guilty of concealing facts from the Election Commission of Pakistan”.

In a press conference in Lahore on Thursday last, Maryam Nawaz Sharif showed no regrets for using derogatory language against some media persons.

When asked whether she would apologize for her alleged comments, she said an apology should be tendered to her for breaching her privacy by recording her private conversation.

Some analysts believe that the audio clip – which Maryam did not declare fake – exposed her party’s mindset to the voice of dissent in the media.

The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists had demanded of the PML-N leadership to tender an apology for using derogatory and abusive language against some of the media persons.

Political analysts said no government wants independent and aggressive media and uses different tactics to tame it. Sometimes advertisements are used as a leverage while sometimes media houses are made to fall in line by browbeating.

A dirty legacy

Unfortunately, the politics of leaked audios and videos is now pretty much in vogue in the country. In November last year, an audio started doing rounds on social media in which former chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar could be heard purportedly passing instructions to some unidentified person to sentence former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

In the dubious leaked conversation, the former CJ could be heard saying: “Let me be a little blunt about it; unfortunately, here it is the ‘institutions’ which dictate judgments. In this case, we will have to penalize Mian Sahib [Nawaz Sharif].”

The former judge said, “And ‘they’ say ‘we shall bring Khan Sahib’. Regardless of the merit, we will have to do it, and even to his daughter [Maryam].” Responding to Justice (retd) Nisar as per the clip, the other person said, “But, in my view, his daughter doesn’t merit a sentence.”

“You are absolutely correct. I did talk to ‘friends’ that something [should] be done about this but they did not agree. There will be no independence of the judiciary, so let it be,” Justice (retd) Nisar had purportedly responded.

The former CJ had later termed the alleged leaked audio clip as “fabricated” and contrary to fact.

Earlier, in September, footages purportedly showing PML-N leader Muhammad Zubair engaging in sex acts with an unidentified woman went viral. The former governor of Sindh had described the clips as “new low in politics” while claiming that the video was “fake and doctored”.

In 2018, it was Maryam Nawaz who had sparked a new controversy by unveiling videos of an accountability court judge Arshad Malik allegedly confessing to a PML-N leader Nasir Butt that he convicted former premier Nawaz Sharif under duress.

A day after the press conference, Judge Arshad Malik had issued a statement rejecting Maryam’s claims. He had maintained that the video revealed by the party as evidence was fake and it was in fact the PML-N leadership that tried to bribe and pressure him to rule in favour of its supreme leader.

The video uploaded by Maryam on a social media site showed a government vehicle [bearing a green number plate] arriving at a pre-decided meeting place to receive a white Land Cruiser that later followed the alleged government vehicle.  All this had been shot by a person, carrying the spy camera on a motorbike, which follows the vehicles. No faces could be seen in the video.

But according to the description given by Maryam: “Judge Arshad Malik’s official car with a green number plate comes to escort Nasir Butt sb who then follows the car to judge sb’s residence. Belies all claims of Judge Arshad Malik sb that he mentioned in his press release.”

The next video showed Nasir Butt entering the residence of Judge Arshad Malik along with the same person carrying the camera. The video showed Malik first meeting Butt and later the person carrying a spy camera. The description given by Maryam Nawaz stated: “Nasir Butt sb entering Judge Sb’s residence. Judge Arshad Malik sb comes in, greets Nasir sb & switches the lights on.