Tazeen Akhtar
After the new call recording powers for intelligence agencies in Pakistan, it is our duty as Muslims to say “Assalam Alaikum” twice when answering a call, the first salaam to the caller, and the second salaam to the person recording the call !
It is just a coincidence here that I say one salaam to the friends who are really my friends but I say two salaams to friends who are apparently friends but from their inner they do not like me.
As this joke is being shared countrywide and as it is going worldwide as well, I thought it suitable for my country and the state and for my security intelligentsia’s good reputation to clear the basic concept of the people regarding phone calls recording by intelligence agencies and for that luckily I came across the most relevant officer recently.
I am sharing my conversation with my readers and general public in good faith and in the vast interest of the state and state’s because we want to live and that freely.
At a recent diplomatic event , i met Sajid Kiyani who is presently serving in an organization that is “famous” for call recording. First I shared with him the joke of saying two Salaams , one to who you are calling and the one to who is recording your call. Then I questioned , this joke is right or wrong?
He replied,” Yes! we record calls but not all calls. We record calls of selected persons only. With this he referred to people around who were mostly foreigners including diplomats. Sajid Kiyani said,” We keep surveillance of those who may have connections with terrorists.”
I asked, ” Do you think , the people who get Visa of Pakistan after your organizations clear them, can be in touch with terrorists? Sajid Kiyani he did not answered the question but said,”They are working on the interests of their countries.” Here I found myself at a loss to understand what Sajid wants to elaborate?
As long as diplomats are concerned , definitely they will work on the interests of their countries. But what Sajid Kiyani wanted to elaborate? On one point , we can consider his stance and for that the ideal example is the murders of Sikh leaders in Canada and USA.
Indian diplomats involvement has been alleged by the intelligence agencies of these two countries. Here our intelligence agencies personnel should also keep in mind that all foreigners are not suspicious and you can see into the activities of the nationals of hostile countries only in that sense.
Why all this intelligence apparatus that is being used on the privacy of the Pakistanis is shifted to tribal areas to check and finish the networks of terrorists. We have to bear the loss of precious lives of our young soldiers every second day there.
Sajid Kiyani said,” This happens in whole World.” Now here he is right that the intelligence agencies do this in every country. But in case of Pakistan, the public is more critical only because in previous few years, the audio leaks and video leaks have left no other option with the public than think that our agencies have no other work to do than to sneak into the privacy of the politicians. The audio and video leaks of not only routine phone calls but the intimate moments of the bed rooms even have extremely tarnished the credibility of our concerned quarters.
We wonder what security threat to the state is posed from the private room of a known politician where he is staying with his wife?
The public also questions, right , you have the power to record calls and videos, for the sake of the state security, will you answer what you have done against the people whose calls you have recorded and they were conniving against the security of this state?
Raymond Davis, the biggest example in this matter. We arranged Diyyat for him taking money from the rich people and our top man of an intelligence agency was reporting to the foreigners about the proceeding of the court for exoneration of the Killer of two Pakistanis in Lahore.
The public questions that what have been done against another former head of the intelligence agency who himself shared that he authored a book jointly with the former head of Indian Research and Analysis Wing? When we asked him about his explanation at the big house. He answered , “What explanation, I went , had tea, had some chit chat and returned.”
When we were busy in chit chat with Sajid Kiyani , the same author showed up around in the event , We took leave from Sajid Kiyani and moved to the former head of the intelligence agency to say two salaam to him………..
State of the State hard to State – Part 3 – by Tazeen Akhtar
