Islamabad, Sep 28 (TIWN) Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Tuesday that 'audio leaks' have marred the country's standing in the international community as no one would feel free to speak with the Prime Minister out of privacy fears, media reports said.

Sharif said the 'audio leaks' scandal is a critical matter and he is in the process of forming a high-powered committee to probe into it.

Responding to a question regarding the audio leaks, he said that such security breaches are a "big question mark", Dawn reported.

"Who will come to meet the Prime Minister at the PM House now? Be it a sympathiser or a friend, they will think 100 times before talking. This is about the respect of 220 million people of the country," he said.

On Saturday, a recording of Sharif surfaced where he was discussing with an unidentified official the possibility of facilitating the import of Indian machinery for a power project that was a concern of Maryam Nawaz Sharif's son-in-law, Raheel.

Countering the matter, the Prime Minister said on Tuesday that Maryam never talked to him about any favours or her son-in-law, Dawn reported.

"Tauqeer spoke to me about it and said half of the machinery was imported during the PTI tenure. I don't know what amount was spent and how much loss they will have to bear if half the machinery is left. Tauqeer told me that the provision is banned and it will have to be taken to ECC (Economic Coordination Committee)."

Sharif went on that he didn't find it appropriate to take the matter to the cabinet.