Dear reader, online ads enable us to deliver the journalism you value. Please support us by taking a moment to
ISLAMABAD: ‘Outsiders’ used to pry upon the federal cabinet meetings held in the safety of Prime Minister’s House in 2012, and may still be doing so, according to PPP Senator Rehman Malik.
A former interior minister, Senator Malik, disclosed this and other secrets while chairing a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Interior on Friday on regulatory affairs of the telecommunications sector of the country.
His disclosures followed when his questions to Dr Ismail Shah, head of the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA), yielded the answer that countering spying was someone else’s job.
Also read: Rehman Malik’s sentence in corruption cases annulled
Senator Malik recalled that once in his days as interior minister prying signals were detected in the cabinet room in the Prime Minister’s House. But since Pakistan lacked the capacity to block the spying activity, he said, the cabinet meeting only could be put off.
In his own house, he said, two windows were cemented up to block prying signals.
He also claimed that the US intelligence agency, CIA, admitted to its spying activities in Pakistan by reporting in 2013 that it had been tapping the phones of former President Asif Ali Zardari, the sitting Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and others in Pakistan.
“That (countering the spying) the agencies do themselves,” responded Dr Ismail Shah, the Chairman of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), who was called to the Senate committee meeting.
PTA had just over a dozen technical people on its staff for its basic job of regulating the country’s telecom sector, he told the committee.
Dr Shah informed the committee that some 2.2 million SIMs falling in a specific category, that included corporate customers, had neither been verified nor blocked.
“More than 97.2 million SIMs registered against 44.7 million unique CNICs have been re-verified since January 12 while 98.3 million SIMs have been blocked,” he said.
For cyber security, the cellular companies operating in Pakistan perform various checks before employing people. It includes verification of academic degrees, verification of two past employments, authentication of identity card from Nadra, security watch in service and a check against fraud database.
Dr Shah said Expression of Interest applications have been called for short-listing companies for third party audit of biometric verification exercise of mobile phone subscribers.
Local development of applications like WhatsApp would not only provide secure communication means to country’s institutions, free from threat of interception, but would also help generate revenues, according to him.
The PTA chief said the roaming facility for mobile SIMs issued from Afghanistan has been stopped on the basis of intelligence reports. India and Pakistan have already denied the facility to each other on reciprocal basis.
While briefing the Senate committee on Axact scandal, the director general of FIA Akbar Khan Hoti said that the company did its alleged business of fake degrees mainly in Europe and Middle East. Some employees and purchasers of Axact fake degrees in Pakistan have come forth and their statements have been recorded.
But the transaction of millions of dollars in the company’s accounts is still a question mark and would be probed in detail, according to the FIA official.
The committee’s proceedings were postponed when its member, Shibli Faraz, suddenly developed some problem and had to be taken to hospital.
Published in Dawn, June 13th, 2015
On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play
![Day 2: Here is what's happening at the Karachi Literature Festival [Live]](http://i.dawn.com/thumbnail/2017/02/589eb669d5007.jpg)
![Day 1: Here's what's happening at Karachi Literature festival 2017 [Live]](http://i.dawn.com/thumbnail/2017/02/589dd359d0e64.jpg)
Comments (21) Closed
why are we still seeing his face ? Tot we knew what his reality is in the previous govt .
Remarks of Mr. Rehman Malik should be taken seriously. The Government including the Army leadership must do everything in this regard to block outsiders from prying on us. We need sincere leadre who believe in the unity of the country to defeat the evil designs of our enemies, no wonder how much our coalition partners they appear apparently.
So what were you expecting, are you living in some Timbaland, why only USA India etc, even Honolulu must have spies in Pakistan, point is why give a statement on such security matter publicity, is he expecting common people to help him, what's government are for, have never heard any government spending childish and immature
Who made these guys ministers? They should be butchering meat in Abpara Market.
Then he was our Interior Minister and revelation in 2015. Great job
Outsiders spying or insiders giving out information. How credible are our politicians?
When Mr. Rahman Malik was the Interior Minister, I used to think: "it doesn't get any better than this". But then came Mr. Chodhry Nisar Ali Khan. God help the country that doesn't know its enemies and makes its friends enemies.
Rehman sahab its called EMF frequency game. They use a program called remote neural monitering for this purpose.Good luck stop those signals. Only Chinese and Russian head of state have enough power to block those signals.Tim Riffat in his book talked about these signals.You are not that smart nor is any Pakistani capable enought to understand this EMF game except a few who themself are target of electronic harassment because they warned Pakistani government of this secret EMF remote neural monitering.
Mr Malik, and what about the sophisticated phone tapping spy equipment purchased by a political party from Germany when you were responsible for the internal affairs?
If the Americans and Europeans are funding the government, they have a right to know how their money is being used. Unless we stand on our feet, run the governments and especially the military with our OWN money, make all in power accountable these incidents are bound to continue. There are no free lunches, the earlier we understand the better.
Good point, but what he did in his 5 years Ministry.
Rehman Malik complaining about spying by foreign govt?? The man who as Interior Minister offered to provide complete access to the NADRA database to foreign govt....
@Mian Amir Hakim...... Basically Pakistan is surrounded by enemies of it's own making.
@Reaper ...... He is making this statement because he has become politically irrelevant and needs to draw attention to himself.
@Haji Adam ..... He bought his senate seat.
@mansoor ..... The only way Pakistan will have any chance of the that is to unify and follow the lead of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his party. Nothing succeeds like success.
Pakistan's highest decision making body is federal cabinet or some other 'meeting' ?
@Haji Adam : Don't agree with you. Butchers do require some knowledge and certain skills.
A man who sold information of Nadra and other sensitive information is revealing this ?What an irony !
Pakistan is a most vulnerable country in terms of security. Better would be to develop a system that can stymie further spying on the country's sensitive clubs. Cyber security threat has a potential to extirpate Pakistan's efforts to bring peace and stability in the region generally and in the country specifically.
@EMFgame Why bring Chienese and their 3rd grade technology into every discussion???