ISLAMABAD: The federal government’s recent decision to authorize the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to intercept citizens’ calls and messages has been challenged in the Islamabad High Court (IHC). Members of the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) filed the petition on Thursday, seeking to declare the notification null and void.
The petitioners, including Shafqat Mehmood Chauhan, Abid Shahid Zuberi, Chaudhry Ishtiaq Ahmed Khan, Munir Ahmed Kakar, Tahir Fraz Abbasi, and Abid Saqi, are part of an opposition faction within the council. They contested SRO 1005(I)/2024, which empowers ISI officers at the BS-18 level or above to surveil citizens under the guise of national security.
The lawyers argue that the notification, issued under Section 54 of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Act, is illegal and that the Fair Trial Act 2013 already provides a comprehensive framework for such actions. They contend that the prior provisions of the Telecom Act suffered from excessive delegation, granting the federal government unchecked powers without adequate legal safeguards.
The petitioners requested that the court invalidate the notification while the case is under consideration. A citizen also approached the Lahore High Court the previous day to contest the government’s decision on similar grounds.
This legal challenge follows a series of hearings in the IHC regarding audio leaks involving high-profile individuals, including a former prime minister and a former chief justice’s son. Justice Babar Sattar had previously raised questions about the legal basis for governmental surveillance of private communications, prompting the government’s recent move to legitimize the ISI’s interception capabilities.
Before the notification, the IHC had been informed about the existence of the Lawful Intercept Management System (LIMS), a mass surveillance framework that allegedly monitored millions of citizens in violation of legal standards.
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