Justice Babar Sattar of the Islamabad High Court on Monday questioned if electronic surveillance can be conducted and who was authorized to do it.

The judge posed these questions, among others, during the hearing of a case regarding multiple audio leaks. Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan appeared before the court, while PPP leader Raza Rabbani submitted written arguments in court in response to his assistance the court had sought over five questions.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority is saying they have not allowed anyone to do it, Justice Sattar remarked, asking how electronic surveillance was being conducted and who was doing it.

The audio conversations from the Prime Minister's Office, of a Supreme Court judge as well as of the family of a former chief justice of the Supreme Court were leaked, the judge remarked.

“Are you saying this was done by a hostile agency?” he asked, adding that it was a dangerous decision to do this without taking the state into confidence.

The court asked if the attorney general was taking the position that these audios were recorded without government authority, saying it was important to see if this data was being misused.

“It should be determined where these audios came from and how they were leaked,” Justice Sattar remarked.

The government had constituted a commission on audio leaks comprising prominent judges, he added, remarking that even the terms of reference of that commission did not include the question as to who leaked the audios.

The AGP requested in-camera proceedings of the case to explain which agencies had the capabilities to record such audios.

Amicus curiae Raza Rabbani told the court that the orders of all committees are rendered ineffective as soon as assemblies are dissolved.

The judge remarked that there should be a legal framework regarding audio taping, adding that it’s not possible that their conversations in their offices and chambers are also recorded. He said he would give ample time to submit a response on a legal framework.

Raza Rabbani said the court should not look into the matter itself and refer it back to the committee. It should consider the division of powers between institutions, he added.

The court issued directions to submit a response in a month.

The AGP told the court that the audio leaks being discussed have not been investigated yet. It has not been determined yet whether these audios were recorded by a government agency.

The court remarked that the PM Office report stated that it did not look at the daily affairs of intelligence agencies.

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