A report published by London-based advocacy group Privacy International claims that the practical surveillance capacity of the Pakistani government and Inter-Services Intelligence Agency (ISI) has exceeded local and international regulation laws for surveillance.

The report released on Tuesday claims that mass network surveillance has been taking place in Pakistan since at least 2005. Pakistani intelligence agencies have allegedly abused their communications surveillance powers by spying on politicians and apex court judges. It further adds that internet censorship and widespread monitoring has been employed to target activists, lawyers and journalists.