Govt authorises ISI to trace, intercept calls, messages

According to sources who spoke to the media on Tuesday, the federal government has authorised the nation’s top spy agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), to intercept and trace calls and messages in order to investigate possible crimes against national security.
The necessary circular, which permits an ISI certified officer to trace calls in accordance with Section 54 of the Telecommunication (Reorganisation) Act of 1996, has been approved by the federal cabinet. The sources also stated that the officer selected by the agency may not be a grade lower than 18.

In the interest of national security, the federal government is authorised by the aforementioned clause of the Telecommunications Act to permit any person or individuals to intercept conversations and messages or to trace calls through any telecommunication infrastructure.

Additionally, it specifies that in order to protect the country from foreign aggression and maintain national security, the government will have precedence over all licence holders in the telecommunications system.
The notification from the Ministry of Information on Monday said, “The federal government is pleased to authorise the officers […] to be nominated from time to time by ISI to intercept calls and messages or to trace calls through any communication system in the interest of national security and in the apprehension of any offence.”
The action goes against the administration of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s efforts to impose tougher social media laws, citing worries about national security and the current prohibition on the widely used social networking platform X.