ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Defense Khawaja Asif said on Tuesday he supported the government’s decision to authorize Pakistan’s premier spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), to intercept phone calls, emphasizing it was essential “under the current circumstances” as the country strives to eradicate militant violence.
In a notification issued on Monday, Pakistan’s information technology ministry said the government had authorized the ISI to tap phone calls and messages “in the interest of national security,” adding to the already outsized role and powers of the shadowy military outfit.
The notification was described as a “black law” by the opposition parties, with former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) saying “national security” had no clear definition and could mean anything.
“In matters of national security, this measure becomes necessary and should be supported by everyone,” the minister said during a conversation with Independent Urdu. “At the very least, during the ongoing war against terrorism, this action is essential. I fully support it under the current circumstances.”
He dismissed criticism from the opposition, saying the PTI members should recall Khan’s statements over the issue who justified phone tapping during his own stint in power.
“Previously, they themselves advocated for phone tapping, both theirs and others’, and happily said it should be done,” he added.
Barrister Gohar Khan, the PTI chairman, told Independent Urdu the constitution guaranteed the privacy of all citizens, saying that only the people involved in criminal activities could be subjected to such surveillance.
“Such a blanket notification violates the constitution,” he added.
Asked about Khan’s own support to phone tapping while he was in power, the PTI leader said: “Whatever it is, it should be according to the constitution.”
Pakistan’s defense minister backs surveillance by spy agency, calls it necessary in ‘current circumstances’
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Pakistan’s defense minister backs surveillance by spy agency, calls it necessary in ‘current circumstances’
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- Khawaja Asif says the measure should be supported by everyone in the context of Pakistan’s war against militancy
- He dismisses the criticism by ex-PM Khan’s party, says its members supported phone tapping during their tenure