No one, including the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the Intelligence Bureau, is allowed to record audio conversations, said the attorney general for Pakistan.
The AGP said this while clarifying the position of the Prime Minister's Office in a report submitted to the Islamabad High Court. The court also expressed dissatisfaction over the reports of the FIA and PTA and directed the organizations to submit their replies again.
Justice Babar Sattar of the high court remarked that if the government does not respond, they will appoint national and international amicus curiae.
In the audio leaks case, the Islamabad High Court was hearing the applications of former chief justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar's son and former first lady Bushra Bibi against recording their private phone calls and leaking them.
The AGP told the court that no one, including the ISI, FIA, or IB, was allowed to record audio tapes of anyone. A government organization making recordings is illegal, he added.
Justice Sattar remarked that the ISI was saying it could not trace the sources of the leaked audio conversations. The court then directed the FIA and others to submit their replies again.
“If the government does not tell who is recoding the audios, national and international judicial assistants will be appointed,” Justice Sattar remarked.
In his report, the attorney general said the position of the Prime Minister's Office was clear: no agency was allowed to record audio. The FIA has to first check who recorded the call, it is writing to the telecom companies on court orders and will need IP access to IP addreses. If any government agency is making these recordings, it is illegal, the report stated.
The AGP’s report said that according to an ISI report, social media companies will have to be contacted for a report and only then the investigation proceed. Justice Sattar remarked that the ISI is saying it cannot trace the source of the leaked audio.
The court inquired from the AGP whether the Intelligence Bureau had been given the authority to record.
AGP Mansoor Usman Awan replied that he will check and respond.
The court then asked the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) director general for a detailed report at the upcoming hearing and adjourned the hearing.
