ISLAMABAD: In the audio leaks case, the attorney general informed the Islamabad High Court (IHC) yesterday that the federal government had not granted permission for audio tapping to any agency, including the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), FIA, or any other institution.

"Any government agency conducting such recordings is doing so unlawfully," AGP Mansoor Usman Awan said as he submitted a report on behalf of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). The IHC was hearing a petition initiated by former prime minister Imran Khan's spouse, Bushra Bibi. She has sought legal action against a leaked conversation that purportedly included her and her lawyer and PTI leader Latif Khosa.

Presiding over the single-member bench, Justice Babar Sattar remarked that it was now the federal government's responsibility to decide how they want to proceed with the case. "If the government does not disclose [who is tapping the calls], then we may seek assistance from national and international judicial bodies.”

AGP Awan stated that the PMO maintains that no agency or institution has been given permission for audio tapping. The FIA needs to review the case first to determine who conducted the call recording. "After court orders, the FIA is sending notices to telecommunication companies," AGP Awan told the court. "The FIA needs access to IP addresses. If any government agency is conducting these recordings, it is doing so unlawfully," he reiterated. The AGP further explained that the ISI has maintained that reports from social media platforms were required to advance the investigations.

Justice Sattar inquired about the actions taken by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) against TV channels that aired the audio leaks. PEMRA replied that private audio leaks cannot be broadcast on TV channels. They added that they cannot take any immediate action since the matter has been forwarded to PEMRA's council of complaints for a decision.

Justice Sattar, addressing senior lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan during the hearing, said: “There is a balance between freedom of information and privacy. How should this case be moved forward?" Aitzaz suggested that self-regulations should be in place, as the Constitution is not being followed here. "The Constitution has not been implemented in 90 days, despite the election announcement.”

The court instructed the AGP to check if there was any news that the Intelligence Bureau (IB) was given the authority to record priviate conversations. To which he said he would check and report back. The court directed the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, FIA, and other parties to re-file their responses for the next hearing

Published in The Daily National Courier, December, 21 2023

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