Breach of trust

The revelation in the court of law that an unannounced and unlawful surveillance of personal data is underway was unfortunate. It is in contravention of not only the fundamental rights of human privacy, as enshrined in the Constitution under Article 14, but also a serious breach of trust with the consumer from the concerned telecom company. That the court dealt with it in a threadbare manner and tried to unearth to what extent the connivance between the state and the telecommunication provider has come as a great relief. The punitive measures and the stringent warning that the Islamabad High Court came up with, nonetheless, is reassuring in the context of upholding the trust of the masses in fair play.

The eavesdropping phenomenon has been in the wings for a while, and Pakistan is no exception to it. But it was shocking to see the twists and turns during the litigation, where in the PTA as a regulator was seen concealing the truth, and subsequently the private telecom companies spilling the beans. This data leaks saga, apparently instituted to indulge in espionage on political personalities and that too without any judicial consent, has undermined civil liberties, and unnecessarily put the responsible state players under the spot. The authorities could have even done it by law, but it seems the exigency of adventure made them go wayward. Last but not least, the confirmation that telecom companies operating in Pakistan were ‘officially’ designated to enable interception of data and records of telecom customers is irksome, and is in utter bad taste.

The PTA, or whosoever were behind this misadventure, must be held accountable, and ensured that such initiatives in future are as per law, and judicially ordained. The telecom companies too have gone over the brink and by acting in collusion for the sake of their business interests have done a great disservice to honest professionalism, and brand. This leak has, however, led to some mass education against the presence of surveillance centres, and the way ahead is to enforce stringent privacy protection for their data and services acquired.