PTA Confirms: Pakistan Government Has Access to Phone Interception System

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has implemented a system for legal phone interception, which is accessible to the government and its agencies, the chairman of the country’s top telecom body informed the Islamabad High Court.

During the hearing of a case, PTA Chairman, Major-General Hafeezur Rehman, stated that the top telecom body had installed a system for legal interception, which is under the control of the federal government and its agencies, as reported by the Dawn newspaper.

PTA Confirms: Pakistan Government Has Access to Phone Interception System

Responding to a query from Justice Babar Sattar, who presided over the IHC bench, regarding the existence of a mechanism for legal interception, Rehman confirmed the presence of such a system. He mentioned that all provisions of the telecom operators’ licenses had been implemented, except for the provision of legal interception.

Rehman highlighted the ease of phone hacking, stating, “Phone hacking has become so easy that if you leave your mobile phone unattended and go to the washroom, I can connect and hack it before you return.”
He further elaborated that the Pegasus spyware, developed by the Israeli surveillance firm NSO Group, can hack a phone within a minute.

When asked about the legality of audio recording or phone tapping, the counsel for the telecom authority clarified that legal interception falls under the jurisdiction of the PTA, the government, and relevant agencies, rather than cellular services.

Justice Sattar pointed out that telecom operators share individuals’ locations with law enforcement agencies in cases of legal interception. He also noted that under an agreement with consumers, operators need to maintain the confidentiality of their personal information.

The court inquired whether telecom operators could share an individual’s personal information with any agency without government permission. PTA lawyer Irfan Qadir assured the court that the regulator could take action against cellular companies for breaching privacy.

In response to the court’s question about the law governing the sharing of consumer information with relevant agencies, the PTA need to submit a detailed report by the next hearing date.

The case pertains to petitions filed by former Chief Justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar’s son Mian Najam-us-Saqib and jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi, regarding leaks of their audio conversations, according to the report.