Mohammad Azhar
LAHORE: Government’s authority to tap phone calls to ISI was challenged in the Lahore High Court.
In the petition filed by citizen Fahad Shabbir in the Lahore High Court, the Prime Minister, the Federal Government, and Pakistan Telecommunication, among others, have been made parties.
It has been argued in the petition that the government of Pakistan in a notification has allowed the ISI to tap people’s phones. The section of the PTA Act under which the notification has been issued has not yet been made into rules. The Constitution of Pakistan provides citizens with privacy and freedom of expression.
The petition further states that according to the Supreme Court of India, tapping people’s phones is a violation of the Constitution. The court declares the government’s notification allowing ISI to tap phones as illegal and suspends the operation of the said notification till the final decision of the petition. A direction should be issued to the Government to frame the rules under Section 56 of the PTA Act.
