FIA special team to investigate Justice Isa’s cell phone hacking

ISLAMABAD: A special technical team of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) would probe the cell phone's hacking issue of Supreme Court's senior judge Justice Qazi Faez Isa, officials said on Tuesday.

A technical team of FIA, consisting of forensic and cyber experts, would identify the hackers, their reasons and modes of hacking and possible leakage of phone data (emails, messages, etc), added the officials. The development comes a day after the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) confirmed hacking of Justice Isa's personal cellular phone.

The FIA special team would focus on whether any e-mails, messages and data was also hacked and stolen by the hackers in what is seen as a crucial happening if investigators succeed to identify those who tried to manipulate the personal information of a sitting SCP judge, officials said. The FIA’s Forensics Laboratory would most likely retrieve information from the cell phone that remained in personal use of Justice Qazi Faez Isa, an FIA official familiar with the development told this correspondent.

It was not decided yet who would head the FIA team to probe the issue, added the official. It is not clear yet whether the whole data of the cell phone has been lost, officials maintained. On Tuesday, Registrar Supreme Court Khawaja Daud Ahmad requested Director General FIA Wajid Zia to form a team of experts to probe this phone hacking issue.

"I am directed to state that the personal cell phone of Justice Qazi Faez Isa, judge of this court, was hacked on Jan 29, 2021 (Saturday) and his lordship learnt of this early Sunday morning. I am therefore directed to request you [Wajid Zia] to depute a technical team to assess his lordship's cell phone in respect of hacking status and apprise about the same at the earliest," stated Registrar Supreme Court's letter exclusively made available with Geo News.

The FIA team remained in touch with the office of Justice Qazi Faez Isa for procuring more details, officials said. Assistant Registrar Pervaiz Iqbal dispatched this letter to DG FIA Wajid Zia and also sent its copy to the office of Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Gulzar Ahmed, added the officials. Before the development, the SCP through an official statement informed the general public that the personal cellular phone of Justice Qazi Faez Isa has been hacked.

"There is suspicion that misleading communication can be made from his lordship’s number to anyone with ulterior motives," read the SCP's official statement. "Therefore, the communication purportedly made from his lordship’s cell phone, which his lordship had not sent, may be treated as fake and false," added the official statement issued on Tuesday.