LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Thursday summoned the secretaries for interior, commerce division, the chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and member customs for not responding to a petition challenging unregulated import/sale of camera and mic-equipped smart glasses.

Chief Justice Aalia Neelum resumed the hearing of the petition with Deputy Attorney General Rafaqat Dogar, the representatives of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) in attendance.

Asked about the representation of other respondents, the law officer told the court that notices had been duly dispatched, however, no reply had been received from them.

At this, the chief justice summoned the heads of the respondent authorities in person for Oct 15.

She allowed time to the PTA to file its reply by the next hearing.

A citizen, Husnainul Abideen, had filed the petition in public interest through Advocate Shahram Saqi.

He said, although Meta did not officially list Pakistan as a market, the glasses were openly sold online and in shops in Lahore, including at Hafeez Centre.

He said the smart glasses look like ordinary eyewear but could secretly photograph, record and live-stream anyone within the wearer’s view.

The petitioner cited concerns raised by regulators in Ireland, Italy and Germany, and bans on smart glasses in courts in England and Wales and New York.

He asked the court to declare unrestricted use of such glasses incompatible with the Constitution.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2026