ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court has summoned directors general of the Intelligence Bureau and Federal Investigation Agency in connection with an audio leaks case as the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) expressed its inability to trace the source of leaked recordings.

Justice Babar Sattar, in a written order issued on Saturday on petitions filed by Bushra Bibi, wife of former prime minister Imran Khan, and Najam Saqib, son of ex-CJP Saqib Nisar, sought a report from the IB and FIA at the next hearing.

During the hearing, Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan informed the court that no law enforcement or intelligence agency had been authorised by the federal government to intercept or rec­ord telephone calls. “The right to privacy of all citizens must be upheld and their private phone conversations ought not be recorded, and such conversations are protected by attorney-client privilege.”

The attorney general said the FIA has written to various social media platforms to seek information with regard to the release of voice calls that form the subject-matter of these petitions in order to determine the source or sources that first released the illegally recorded calls.

ISI has ‘no technological capacity’ to ascertain source of information leaked on social media

He sought some time on behalf of the FIA to procure such information in order to file a report.

Justice Sattar said the report should include details of social media handles that shared the illegally recorded audio conversations in view of the timing of such sharing.

He summoned the FIA director general to brief the court as to how such surveillance and recording of phone calls can take place in Pakistan.

AG Awan told the court that the ISI had filed a report through the Ministry of Defence.

However, the ISI stated that it had no technological capacity to ascertain the source of release of information on social media platforms.

The court directed the IB to conduct an inquiry and analysis to identify the social media accounts used to release and circulate the illegally recorded voice call and the social media accounts that shared such voice call in view of time stamps of sharing. The director general (law & regulation) of the Pakistan Tele­c­omm­unication Authority (PTA) informed the court that nobody had been authorised to undertake lawful intercepts.

The court also impleaded all the mobile service providers as well as the six largest fixed-line service providers as necessary parties who will file rep­orts. The court sought a list from the PTA of all mobile operators in Pakistan as well as the top six fixed-line operators.

The counsel for the Pakistan Electro­nic Media Regulatory Authority infor­med the court that the regulator had a limited authority under Section 27 of the Pemra Ordinance 2002 to issue prohibition orders and one such order had been issued to the electronic media prohibiting them from broadcasting illegally recorded private phone conversations.

He said no prior restraints could be applied in relation to speech and it is only after the broadcast of certain material, even if it is illegal, that regulatory action can be taken, which in the instant case could not be taken due to non-existence of the Council of Complaints.

Justice Sattar also impleaded the Pak­istan Broadcasters Association and All Pakistan Newspaper Society as necessary parties since the illegally recorded voice call was broadcast across the electronic media and reported in the print media.

Published in Dawn, December 24th, 2023