Right to privacy & dignity guaranteed under Article 14 are patently infringed whenever the state unlawfully surveils an individual: Imran Khan

ISLAMABAD, May 20 (SABAH): Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan has said that the Federal Government has formed Inquiry Commission under Section 3 of the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 2017 to investigate into 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 that who is behind unlawful and unconstitutional surveillance of PM office and sitting judges of the Supreme Court, Imran Khan said.

In a statement issued on twitter on Saturday, Imran Khan said that the Commission should be empowered to investigate who are these powerful and unknown elements who tap and record telephone conversation of citizens including high public functionaries. This is serious breach of privacy guaranteed under Article 14 of the Constitution, he said.

Imran Khan said that 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.

Imran Khan said that 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, he said.

He said that 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 unlawfully were tapped and fabricated/tampered with. Seemingly, the elements behind such audacious tapping operate in a manner outside the command and even knowledge of the PM of Pakistan, he said.

Imran Khan said that 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 held identified by the Commission.