Pakistan’s Prime Minister’s Office has told the Islamabad High Court that there is a legal framework in place for recording audio in the country and that affairs of intelligence agencies are not interfered with.
In a reply submitted to the IHC in the audio leaks case, the PMO said that the Investigation for Fair Trial Act of 2013 provides a legal framework for audio to be recorded.
However, the PMO clarified that it does not interfere in the ‘sensitive’ affairs of intelligence agencies on a day-to-day basis.
The reply added that PMO keeps a ‘distant’ relationship with the intelligence agencies and meddling in their affairs is in the interest of neither the agencies or national security.
The PMO did say that it expects the intelligence agencies to work within the ambit of the law and the constitution.
Justice Babar Sattar had asked the government to submit a reply on whether a legal framework exists for recording audios. The reply from the government had been sought in petitions filed by Najam Saqib, son of former Chief Justice Saqib Nisar, who was summoned to a parliamentary committee after audio allegedly belonging to him was leaked to the media.
