Daily Times

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Thursday sought assistance from attorney general of Pakistan regarding recording of telephonic conversations of private people and releasing audiotapes.

The IHC’s bench appointed senior lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan, Mukhdoom Ali Khan, former chairman senate Raza Rabbani and Mohsin Shahnawaz Ranjha as amicus-curiae and served notices to them for assistance in the matter. The court questioned that if the constitution and law permitted the surveillance of telephonic calls of citizens and secretly recording it. If it was permitted then which authority was responsible to tape the conversations and what was its mechanism, it asked.

The court asked that what were the safeguards in order to keep the audiotapes as secrete and avoiding its misuse. It further questioned that if audio recording and its release was not permitted in the law then which authority was responsible to violate the privacy of the citizens. The court also raised question that if the Parliament was authorized to conduct an inquiry regarding a matter of a private person and whether the NAB’s speaker could form a special committee on it.

The court order said that it was not suspending the notification for formation of the special committee in respect of the Parliament. However, it said that the summon notice of the special committee to petitioner Najamu Saqib would remain suspended till May 25. The court also instructed the petitioner to name Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Defence and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) as respondents in the petition. The court sought para-wise written comments from respondents including secretary National Assembly in the case. Justice Baber Sattar issued a seven-page judgment regarding last day hearing on a petition filed by former chief justice Saqib Nisar’s son Najmu Saqib challenging formation of a special committee by the speaker national assembly to probe his alleged audiotape containing his conversation with a PTI’s ticket holder.