ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday asked Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Awan to provide an explanation for whether the law permits “any authority or agency” to surveil citizens’ phone calls.
Yesterday, the high court passed the directives while hearing a petition of Najam Saqib – son of former chief justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar – against a National Assembly special committee tasked with probing his purported audio leaks.
In the audio leaks, Najam could allegedly be heard telling a politician, Abuzar Chadar, that his father, Nisar, had “worked really hard” to get Chadar a ticket for the PTI. In the second audio, Najam allegedly tells one Mian Aziz how much money he expected in return for the party ticket.
The former CJP’s son had later approached the IHC contending that the alleged audios represent a breach of his privacy and his illegal surveillance. He requested the court to declare that recording a private person’s personal conversation is a violation of basic human rights.
The court suspended the special committee’s notification asking Najam to appear before it.
However, the IHC said it was showing judicial restraint and did not suspend the notification of the formation of the committee.
In a seven-page written order issued today, IHC’s Justice Babar Sattar raised multiple questions concerning the tapping of private phone calls and laws surrounding the surveillance of citizens.
“To the extent that recording of phone calls is permitted, which public authority or agency is authorised to do so, how is the right of a citizen to liberty and privacy balanced against the interest of the state in recording phone calls or undertaking surveillance and which agency is vested with legal authority to undertake such balancing exercise?” the orders questioned.
Justice Sattar also raised crucial questions about laws concerning the monitoring and secret recording of citizen’s phone calls, asking whether the Constitution permitted it and “if so, what is the supervisory and regulatory legal regime within which such recording and surveillance can take place?”
“Which authority or agency can record the audio and under which mechanism?” he inquired, “What safeguards are in place to keep audio recordings confidential and prevent misuse?”
Furthermore, the high court questioned that if the law does not permit such surveillance, then “which authority is responsible for violation of citizens’ privacy?”.
The IHC has also sought an explanation from the concerned authorities about “who should be held responsible for releasing the illegally recorded calls?”
“Can the parliament open an inquiry into a private person’s business? Do the rules allow the Speaker to set up a special committee on leaks of private individuals’ conversations?” it added.
Notably, the court has directed the federal government, the Ministry of Interior Affairs, the Ministry of Defense and the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority to be made parties to the case.
The court has issued a notice to all the parties including the National Assembly secretary and directed them to submit their para-wise comments on the petition.
Additionally, Aitzaz Ahsan, Makhdoom Ali Khan, Mian Raza Rabbani and Mohsin Shahnawaz Ranjha has been nominated to assist the court on the matter.
