The government’s authorisation of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to trace and intercept calls and messages for “national security” has been challenged in the Lahore High Court (LHC), according to a report by Dawn.com.
In a petition filed by a citizen named Mashkoor Hussain through his lawyer Nadeem Sarwar, it is stated that telephone-tapping is a serious invasion of an individual’s privacy. “With the growth of highly sophisticated communication technologies, the right to hold telephone conversation, in the privacy of one’s home or office without interference, is increasingly susceptible to abuse,” the complaint reads.
The petition calls for the impugnment of the notification issued by the federal government regarding the surveillance, terming it a violation of the Constitution of Pakistan.
On Monday, the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT) officially granted powers to the ISI, the lead intelligence agency, to intercept phone calls and text messages in the “best interests of national security”. The permission was granted under Section 54 (National security) of the Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organisation) Act, 1996.
Section 54 of the Act states the federal government may authorise any person or persons to intercept calls and messages or to trace calls through any telecommunication system in the interest of national security.
The notification, issued by MoITT, read that the government was “pleased to authorise the officers not below the rank of grade 18 to be nominated from time to time by the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to intercept calls and messages or to trace calls through any telecommunication system as envisaged under Section 54 of the Act”.
The notification caused a stir online, drawing widespread concerns and alarm. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) condemned the government’s permission to the ISI to trace calls, calling it a “flagrant violation” of citizens’ rights as protected in the Constitution.
“HRCP is deeply concerned by the recent unconstitutional notification issued by the federal government giving intelligence personnel carte blanche to intercept and trace the calls of any citizen in the interest of ‘national security’,” the rights group said in a statement on X. “The notification is in flagrant violation of citizens’ constitutionally protected rights to liberty, dignity and privacy under Articles 9, 14 and 19.”
The development comes as the prolonged arbitrary suspension of X (formerly Twitter) in the country is about to cross its fifth month.
