Shehbaz Sharif government authorises spy agency to intercept calls, texts for national security

[FearlessRoar]

Pakistan allows powerful spy agency to tap phone calls and messages​

Pakistan has authorised its powerful spy agency to tap phone calls and messages, tightening the army’s grip on the South Asian nation.

Citizens and human rights advocates have criticised the move amid fears it could be weaponised to suppress political opponents and throttle dissent.

The ISI, which is run by the military, will be able to legally intercept and trace phone calls and messages in the interest of "national security".

Federal law minister Azam Nazeer Tarar told the parliament that the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunications has been advised of the authorisation in an 8 July notice.

”Anyone who misuses the law will face action," he said on Tuesday while claiming that the authorisation is limited to tracking criminal and terrorist activities and that the government will ensure it doesn’t infringe people's lives and privacy.

"The federal government in the interest of national security and in the apprehension of any offence is pleased to authorise officers," the notice states, according to Reuters, “to intercept calls and messages or to trace calls through any telecoms system.”

Parliamentarians from jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party opposed the decision.

Khan has previously backed the ISI's surveillance of telephone calls of politicians, even his own, in the absence of legal authorisation.

Omar Ayub Khan, the opposition leader in the parliament, said the spy agency will use its powers even against lawmakers and vowed that his party will mount a legal challenge.

A Pakistani citizen challenged the notification in the Lahore high court on Monday.

The opposition leader said the authorisation, which allows the spy agency to monitor social media accounts as well, gives it power to control free speech.

“Only a fascist government would grant an intelligence agency complete authority to tap citizens’ phones,” he was quoted as saying by the Dawn newspaper.

By promulgating this measure, he said, prime minister Shehbaz Sharif has “cut his own throat”.

The law minister responded that police and intelligence agencies already "operate under this law whenever access to some data or interception is required".

He recalled that former prime minister Benazir Bhutto’s assassins were tracked down using similar methods in 2007.

“Time and again, we have witnessed that in the name of national security, individual freedoms are consistently under attack,” Iqbal Khattak, executive director of the Freedom Network civil liberties group in Islamabad, told Arab News.

Pakistan allows powerful spy agency to tap phone calls and messages

Government claims authorisation for ISI, which is run by military, is limited to tracking criminal and terrorist activities

www.independent.co.uk

A right move or an infringement of privacy?

 

[The Bald Eagle]

PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar has asserted that the Constitution of Pakistan guaranteed the privacy of all citizens, terming the government’s decision to authorise Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to tap phones ‘unconstitutional’, ARY News reported.

Speaking to international media, Barrister Gohar said that such a ‘blanket notification’ violates the constitution, adding that only the people involved in criminal activities could be subjected to such surveillance.

When asked about PTI founder Imran Khan’s own support to phone tapping while he was in power, he said: “Whatever it is, it should be according to the constitution.”

Meanwhile, Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said he supported the government’s decision to authorise Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to intercept phone calls.

He emphasised that it was essential “under the current circumstances” as the country strives to eradicate militant violence.

“In matters of national security, this measure becomes necessary and should be supported by everyone,” the minister, adding: “At the very least, during the ongoing war against terrorism, this action is essential.”

He dismissed criticism from the opposition, saying the PTI members should recall Khan’s statements over the issue who justified phone tapping during his own stint in power.

In a notification issued on Monday, the Information and Broadcasting Minister said the government had authorised the ISI to tap phone calls and messages “in the interest of national security.”

This authorisation was given to the ISI under Section 54 of the Pakistan Telecommunication Act.

Source: Ary News

 

[FearlessRoar]

Law allowing spy agencies to tap phones 'ambiguous', says Justice Mandokhail​

Terming the existing law allowing spy agencies to tap phones "ambiguous", Supreme Court’s Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail has said that the case would also impact the pending cases.

A seven-member constitutional bench, headed by Justice Amin-Ud-Din Khan, heard the case related to phone tapping on Wednesday.

The incumbent government, in July 2024, gave a nod to the country's premier spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to intercept and trace calls and messages in the apprehension of an offence against national security.

The notification, issued by the Ministry of Information Technology, said that the authorisation was granted to the ISI under Section 54 of the Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organisation) Act, 1996.

During today’s hearing, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar — who is part of the seven-member bench — inquired whether any legislation was carried out regarding the phone tapping.

Responding to the query, Additional Attorney General Amir Rehman said the law has been in place since 2013 and ISI and Intelligence Bureau (IB) were officially granted permission to tap phones. "The procedure for phone tapping is part of the law, and judicial supervision is also in the law,” he told the court.

Justice Mazhar responded that as per the law, only a judge can permit phone tapping. "Has any judge been notified for this purpose?" he asked. The AAG replied he was not aware of the nomination of a judge in this regard.

Justice Amin-Ud-Din Khan told the AAG: "We are not interested in reports or the law, we want results.”

Meanwhile, Justice Mandokhail termed the phone tapping law "ambiguous," saying: "The [phone tapping] case will also affect the pending cases. This matter started from the chief justice’s chamber, where will the chief justice go?"

The advocate on record (AOR) noted that contact can’t be made with the petitioner, adding that his lawyer also passed away last year. The court issued a notice to the advocate general and adjourned the hearing.

The federal government’s decision to allow phone tapping faced strong backlash from the opposition quarters and was challenged in the Lahore High Court (LHC).

Earlier in August, the apex court accepted a federal government's appeal in a case related to audio leaks of Bushra Bibi, spouse of PTI founder Imran Khan and Najamul Saqib, son of former chief justice Mian Saqib Nisar and ordered the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to stop proceedings till further orders.

During the hearing, the AAG had apprised the court that the intelligence agencies were unable to perform counterintelligence due to the IHC's ruling. He added that the high court exceeded its jurisdiction under Article 199 of the Constitution in contradiction to the top court's two verdicts.

It is worth mentioning that on May 29, IHC's Justice Babar Sattar barred telecom companies from recording phone calls and data which disabled the intelligence and law enforcement agencies’ surveillance against criminals and terrorists.

Law allowing spy agencies to tap phones 'ambiguous', says Justice Mandokhail

ISLAMABAD: Terming the existing law allowing spy agencies to tap phones ambiguous, Supreme Court’s Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail has said that the case would also impact the pending cases.A...

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