The information was unfolded in the Supreme Court on Wednesday, while taking notice of the matter, had asked regarding to submit data on the total number of phones tapped and to inform it under which law these were being recorded by Pakistan’s Spy agencies ISI.
Islamabad: Pakistan’s spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) admitted that it tapped nearly 7,000 phones in the month of May, a little higher than the number taped phone in last month April.
This information about tapping of phone was disclosed in the Supreme Court on Wednesday during the hearing of an old case that regarding the power of spy agencies to tap telephones call.
As reported that Deputy Attorney General (DAG) SajidIlyas Bhatti submitted a sealed packed envelope in court.
After examining the document enclosed in the sealed envelope, the court stated in its order that the Pakistan’s spy agency ISI had tapped 6,523 phone numbers in Feb, 6,819 in March, 6,742 in April and 6,856 in last month May 2015. It was not revealed that whose numbers have been tapped and what sort of information was revealed.
The secret report was furnished on the behalf of spy agency ISI by the DAG in compliance with a May 22 direction, when the law officer had presented another report that covered by the Intelligence Bureau (IB). The report suggests that ISI had tapped 5,594 phone numbers across the country.
A three-judge Supreme Court bench, headed by Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, heard a 19-year-old suo motu case, initiated by former Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah in 1996. Shah had taken notice of a device found attached with his telephone by certain spy agencies.
Justice Saqib observed that the matter had been pending since 1996 and that even judges and chief justices’ phones were recorded during that period.
The judge also recalled that the court, while taking notice of the matter, had asked to submit data on the total number of phones that was tapped and to inform it under which law these were being recorded.
