ISLAMABAD The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) declared on Tuesday that it would oppose the government’s decision to formally let the top intelligence agency to track down calls made by civilians in order to combat threats to “national security”.
Omar Ayub, the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, declared that he will file a legal challenge against the notification in court, using his attorney Babar Awan, on the grounds that it violates the fundamental rights guaranteed by the constitution.
Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), the nation’s top espionage agency, has received approval from the federal government to intercept and trace calls and messages in order to identify and apprehend individuals suspected of violating national security.
The appropriate circular authorizing an ISI designated officer to conduct call tracing has been 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.
