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- Inquiry Commission to Investigate Audio Leaks
The Federal Government has formed an Inquiry Commission under Section 3 of the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 2017 to investigate the issue of audio leaks. However, the Terms of Reference formed by the Federal Government suffer from a deliberate omission. They fail to take into account the issue of who is behind the unlawful and unconstitutional surveillance of the Prime Minister's Office and sitting judges of the Supreme Court.
The Commission should be empowered to investigate who are these powerful and unknown elements who tap and record telephone conversations of citizens, including high public functionaries. This is a serious breach of privacy guaranteed under Article 14 of the Constitution.
Not only those who illegally retrieve data through unlawful phone tapping and surveillance should be held accountable, but those who through fabrication and tampering of different phone calls leak them on social media also need to be held accountable.
Democracies governed by the rule of law propose that the state should not arbitrarily intrude into certain aspects of life. Right to privacy and dignity guaranteed under Article 14 are patently infringed whenever the state unlawfully surveils an individual.
Some of the recent leaked calls were made over what was supposed to be a secure phone line in the Prime Minister's Office. Nevertheless, they were unlawfully tapped and fabricated/tampered with. Seemingly, the elements behind such audacious tapping operate in a manner outside the command and even knowledge of the Prime Minister of Pakistan.
Who are these actors who are above the law and outside the command of even the prime minister of the country, and who resort to such illegal surveillance with impunity? Such elements need to be identified by the Commission.
- Conclusion:
The Inquiry Commission must be empowered to investigate the unlawful surveillance of the Prime Minister's Office and sitting judges of the Supreme Court. Those who are responsible for this illegal activity must be held accountable, regardless of their position or power.
