ISLAMABAD:The Islamabad High Court (IHC) was informed that intelligence agencies have access to phone recording system through the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).
The counsel for telecom operators appeared before the high court as it heard pleas against the leaked audios of former premier Imran Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi and ex-CJP Saqib Nisar’s son. The case was heard by IHC’s Justice Babar Sattar.
The counsel said that the recording system is installed, and the PTA has the key to it. The government and agencies have access to the system as it is under their jurisdiction. “We have given access to the system to the PTA. The authority can give access to whichever agency it wants,” he said, adding that the PTA was in a better position to answer the court’s queries.
The additional attorney general (AAG) however told the court that the government had not given any such permissions for the concerned calls.
Justice Sattar got irked at the AAG’s reply, telling him this was not the correct manner to argue the case. He said the prime minister, attorney general, as well as three additional secretaries, submitted their replies stating that no permission was given to tap phone calls. “Today you are coming and informing the court that your reply was limited to this case only,” the judge stated.
The judge observed that the court repeatedly asked the federal authorities to inform it if there existed a system under which these calls were being recorded, warning of consequences if a false report was submitted to the court.
“Under which law is all of this happening?” he asked. “I have been asking you for the past eight months under which framework have you been operating. Should you not know which competent agency is being granted access to?” Justice Sattar asserted.
The judge then inquired of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority’s (PEMRA) counsel if they had issued any instructions regarding the unconfirmed leaked audio calls being aired on media channels. Their counsel replied that the most the authority could do was prohibit the media from running them, adding that it has issued instructions regarding the matter as per the IHC’s order.
