Audio leaks: Rana Sanaullah claims to find suspects after Imran Khan announces to move court
Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah claimed that those involved in PMO audio leaks were identified and that no hostile intelligence agency was involved.
ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah claimed that those involved in Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) audio leaks were identified and that no hostile intelligence agency was involved.
Rana Sanaullah made claims about the identification of the suspects who were involved in PMO audio leaks just after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief and former premier Imran Khan announced to approach court over the issue and seek formation of a joint investigation team (JIT) to probe which “intelligence agency” was involved in the bugging of the Prime Minister House.
In a TV show, the controversy was resolved, adding that there was no proof of the involvement of a foreign spy agency in the episode. “Some staff members of the PM’s House have been identified… such things are done for money,” the interior minister added.
ایجنسیوں کی ٹیپنگ پرعمران خان کاماضی کا مؤقف اپنی جگہ مگر اصولی طور پر وہ اب غلط کیا کہہ رہے ہیں؟ وزیر اعظم شہبازشریف خود سوال اٹھا چکے کہ وزیراعظم آفس کی گفتگو محفوظ نہیں۔اگر عمران خان عدالت گئےتوحکومت بھی حمایت کرےگی؟تحقیقات کےنتائج عوام کےسامنےرکھےگی؟
— Shahzeb Khanzada (@shazbkhanzdaGEO) October 10, 2022
According to Mr Sanaullah, the probe would continue. He added that there was no harm in making the report of this investigation public, but a final decision in this regard will depend on PM Shehbaz Sharif, the federal cabinet, and the National Security Committee (NSC).
Though Mr Sanaullah confirmed the involvement of some individuals in the leaks, he did not confirm whether any arrests had been made. Earlier in the day, media reports claimed that two suspects had been taken into custody over their involvement in the leaked clips.
However, there was no official confirmation from the government and relevant quarters in this regard, Dawn News reported.
According to ARY News, ‘an intelligence agency’ arrested two suspects on Monday who were involved in the bugging and phone hacking of the PMO. Among the two suspects, one hacker belongs to Rawalpindi while the other hails from a city in Central Punjab while both suspects were in contact with the staff deployed on the PMO security, the private channel reported.
It added that people deployed on the PM Office security would also likely to be arrested shortly in connection with audio leaks.
Sanaullah told Geo News that a “tiny” recording device was regularly planted on the premises to record telephonic conversations and informal chats at the PM’s Office. The interior minister added that the findings of the investigations being carried out could also be shared with courts through an in-camera briefing.
Yesterday, Imran Khan hinted at approaching courts on the audio leaks and seeking the formation of a joint investigation team (JIT) to probe which “intelligence agency” was involved in the bugging of the Prime Minister’s House.
“We intend to go to court to establish authenticity of leaks and then form a JIT to investigate which intelligence agency is responsible for the bugging and who is leaking out the audios, many of which are edited and doctored,” Imran said.
“Audio leaks are a serious breach of national security as they call into question the entire security of the Prime Minister House and the Prime Minister Office,” he said. “It is a critical matter as sensitive security issues were and have been illegally recorded and subsequently hacked”.
The AudioLeaks are a serious breach of national security as they call into question the entire security of the PMO, PMH. As PM my secure line at my residence was also bugged. We intend to go to Court to estab authenticity of Leaks & then form JIT to investigate which Intel agency
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) October 10, 2022
