Pakistan’s Government Allows ISI To Tap Phone Calls, Lahore High Court Asked To Intervene

The Shehbaz Sharif government has permitted the ISI to trace phone calls and messages causing concerns regarding the right to privacy

Attention India
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In a controversial move, a carte Blanche has been granted to the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency by the Shehbaz Sharif federal government in Pakistan to intercept and tap Pakistani citizens’ phone calls. The government decided to grant this authority to the ISI in the ‘interest of national security’, despite the agency’s many unrestrained powers. The government issued this notification permitting ISI to tap calls and messages without any legal framework or safeguards. 

Lahore High Court Asked To Interfere

The authorization for tracing phone calls and messages was issued by Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Telecommunication on Monday after several complaints from the areas of Baluchistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of people mysteriously going missing. A concerned citizen named Mashkoor Hussain has filed a petition at the Lahore High Court suggesting that this move by the federal government is a serious invasion of citizens’ privacy and a violation of their constitutional rights. This caught the attention of the High Court. 

Decision Raises Concerns About Citizens’ Privacy

Advocate Nadeem Sarwar, the petitioner’s counsel suggested that this decision is a flagrant ignorance of the privacy of citizens and violates Article 4 of the Pakistani constitution, which guarantees the right to life, liberty, and security of an individual. The petition urged the High Court that the right to privacy is a crucial and inalienable right of every citizen in the country. The petition also mentioned the rules pertaining the Section 54 of the Telecom Act, which claims that the tapping of phone calls has not been formulated yet, which rejects the move by the federal government to make a decision that is not mentioned in the rule of law. The petitioner thus called the decision unconstitutional. 

Earlier Accusations On ISI Of Using Intimidating Tactics

The decision has allegedly come about following many reports of criticism by Pakistani journalists, judges, opposition politicians, and supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan concerning the administration under current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Earlier in March this year, six separate High Courts in Pakistan had accused the spy agency of intervening in judicial matters along with resorting to intimidating tactics such as secret surveillance, abduction of targets, torture of family members, and installation of cameras in people’s bedrooms. The recent decision by the government has posed a greater threat to peace and national security in the country.

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