Concerning the “unconstitutional notification” of the government that grants the nation’s top intelligence agency the power to intercept and trace calls made by any citizen, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) voiced its concerns on Wednesday.
“HRCP is deeply concerned by the recent unconstitutional notification issued by the federal government giving intelligence personnel carte blanche to intercept and trace the calls of any citizen in the interest of ‘national security’,” the rights organization wrote in a post on X.
The opposition and other people concerned about citizens’ privacy and fundamental rights protected by the Constitution expressed their outrage when the federal government approved the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) on Monday to intercept and trace calls and messages in the suspected case of a national security violation.
The appropriate circular, which permits an ISI certified officer to trace calls in accordance with Section 54 of the Telecommunication (Re-organization) Act of 1996, was approved by the federal cabinet. But the agency’s nominee must be a less than a grade 18 officer.
In the interest of national security, the federal government may, under the aforementioned section of the Telecommunications Act, authorize any person or individuals to intercept conversations and messages or to trace calls through any telecommunication infrastructure.
Additionally, it specifies that in order to protect the nation from foreign aggression and maintain national security, the government will have precedence over all license holders in the telecommunications system.
