Islamabad: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday banned telecom companies from recording calls and data for surveillance purposes.
Justice Babar Sattar heard a plea filed by former First Lady Bushra Bibi and son of former Justice Saqib Nisar against the audio leak.
The court sought clarity on law that allows (PTA) to carry out surveillance activities.
Additional Attorney General Munnawar Iqbal replied, “It was done on the basis of law.”
Justice Babar Sattar asked the AAG to issue an official notice to the court where it is legal to record people’s calls. “Who gave permission? Who is authorized to record calls? said the judge.
If you withdraw from this mission now, there will be consequences. “The law states that the federal government can authorize, but according to you, it has not been authorized,” he said.
The AAG explained that its previous response was only limited to the audio leak involving the petitioners.
Responding to the AAG’s comments, Justice Babar said that if the federal government was “in court”, things would not progress. He said he had submitted responses from various departments and agencies, including the Prime Minister, to the court. They said that no one was allowed to be detained legally. “If custody is granted, tell us where and how,” the judge said.
The AAG said that if there is no rule in this case, a rule should be made in this case.
The judge asked who would make the rules and who would notify the authorities about the rules. He also questioned whether secret recording had been done so far after seeking permission from the court.
“According to the law, every six months the permission for such secret records will be reviewed, has such a review committee been established so far?”
Justice Babar asked the AAG whether recording calls without judicial permission would also be punishable. Does the PTA license mention this condition or has the PTA issued a policy in this regard? Has this law been observed in the past year or not? “
The judge expressed displeasure over the failure to register an FIR, saying the inability of the FIA and other agencies to pursue the case could be considered an institutional failure.
Following the statement, the court banned telecommunications companies from monitoring calls and data and warned that companies would be prosecuted if their devices were used for illegal surveillance.
Justice Babar also sought tapes of secretly recorded conversations from the federal government and ordered the AAG to submit answers to the court’s questions.
In December 2023, the IHC ordered the FIA to conduct a forensic analysis of the leaked audio of an interview with PTI founder Imran Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi and her lawyer Latif Khosa.
IHC bars telcos from recording calls, data for surveillance
