LAHORE: The federal government’s notification allowing the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to tap and intercept citizens’ phones has been challenged in the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday.
Citizen Fahad Shabbir, through Advocate Nadeem Sarwar, has filed a petition naming the prime minister, the federal government, and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), among others, as respondents.
The petitioner argued that the Pakistani government granted the ISI permission to tap phones via a notification, but no regulations have been established for clause 56 of the PTA Act, under which this notification was issued. He stated that Pakistani citizens have the constitutional right to privacy and freedom of speech.
Moreover, the petitioner referenced the Indian Supreme Court’s ruling that phone tapping is unconstitutional and urged the court to declare the ISI’s tapping authorization unlawful.
The petition requested that the court suspend the implementation of the notification until the petition is resolved. It also called for the government to be mandated to establish regulations under Section 56 of the PTA Act.
