The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) provides phone recording systems to intelligence agencies, as the Islamabad High Court (IHC) was informed on Thursday.
As the high court heard arguments against the audio recordings of the son of former CJP Saqib Nisar and former prime minister Imran Khan that were released, the telecom operators’ attorney arrived. Justice Babar Sattar of IHC heard the matter.
The PTA possesses the key to the installed recording equipment, according to the attorney. Since the system is under their authority, the government and its agencies have access to it. “We have granted the PTA access to the system. He stated that the PTA was in a better position to respond to the court’s questions and that “the authority can grant access to whichever agency it wants.”
However, the additional attorney general (AAG) informed the court that the relevant calls were not authorized by the government.
The AAG’s response infuriated Justice Sattar, who informed him that this was not the proper way to present the case. He said that in their responses, the attorney general, the prime minister, and three other secretaries indicated that no authorization had been granted to intercept phone conversations. The judge said, “You are coming in today and telling the court that your reply was limited to this particular case only.”
The judge noted that the court had frequently threatened to take action if a false complaint was sent to the court, requesting that the federal authorities notify it if there was a mechanism in place that allowed these calls to be recorded.
“Under what legal statute is this occurring?” he inquired. “I’ve been wondering which framework you’ve been working within for the last eight months. Should you not be aware of the competent agency to which access is being provided? Judge Sattar declared.
The court then asked the legal representative for the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) whether they had received any directives about the unverified audio calls that had been leaked and were being shown on television. Their attorney retorted that the authority’s only option was to forbid the media from covering them and that, in accordance with the IHC’s directive, it had published guidelines on the subject.
The PTA chairman informed Justice Sattar that 90% of smartphones are infected with malware, which allows users to control their cameras. He clarified that an Israeli business created a program named Pegasus that infects a mobile device and that hacking a phone was not a tough undertaking. “It only requires a minute,” he stated. “I can connect my phone to yours and get full access to it in the interim if you leave the phone with me to use the restroom,” the attorney stated.
The judge questioned the PTA chairman whether he was informing the court that all of the phone tapping was being done illegally in response to his remark.
The telcos’ legal representative told the court that the telecommunications providers are obligated to abide by the licensing policy’s legal clause permitting call interception. He continued by saying that telecoms are not involved in call interception.
The attorney responded that a PTA system is established and that the federal government has the power to utilize it when the court then inquired about the existence of any systems for lawful interception.
The telcos’ legal representative declared, “This is between the federal government, the PTA, and the concerned agency.”
Justice Sattar asked whether the telecom companies did not know who was gaining access to their data streams. Is it possible to utilize the system without the help of telecom operators? The judge questioned, “Who is the appropriate and authorized agency for phone tapping?” “We don’t know; we just install the system when requested by the PTA,” the telcos’ attorney said.
The telecom operators’ attorney was then instructed to present a written report at the upcoming hearing by the high court, which adjourned the current one.
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