World News | Minister Pak says government plans to take necessary steps to secure PM’s office after audio leak

ISLAMABAD, September 29 (PTI) The Pakistani government said on Thursday that it is taking necessary measures, including changing some standard operating procedures (SOPs) to ensure the security of the prime minister’s office following the recent explosive audio leak of secret conversations.

Law Minister Azam Nazer Talal told the media that the state agency had conducted a PMO security exercise to keep it safe.

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The announcement comes a day after the National Security Council (NSC) on Wednesday approved the creation of a high-power committee to investigate the embarrassing audio leaks from the Prime Minister’s Office that have sparked controversy and demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Baz Sharif.

The meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Sharif, was attended on Wednesday by the Ministers of Defence, Energy, Information, Home Affairs, Finance, Human Rights and Planning, as well as service heads, national security advisers and senior officials.

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“Some of the standard operating procedures have changed, and I think it’s the government’s responsibility because many sensitive issues are often discussed in these places, and there should be an environment where you are 100 percent satisfied that you are making national decisions in a safe environment,” Tara said. Er told reporters.

He said consultations were under way to clear the prime minister’s office to ensure future talks would not be taped.

Tarar explained that basic standard operating procedures are already in place for all sensitive buildings, but security measures will be more effective to avoid such incidents from happening again.

“It’s going to work to introduce a culture and an environment, not just in the PMO, but in all the departments that can make sure sensitive information doesn’t get leaked,” he said.

Responding to queries, he said the prime minister was not considering moving his office after the PMO’s audio leaked.

The issue of the leak caused a stir on social media on Saturday when a recorded conversation between Prime Minister Sheikh Baz and his chief secretary Takhir Shah went viral online.

The last such tape appeared on Wednesday, with former Prime Minister Imran Khan talking about a plot to overthrow his government.

Subsequently, the National Security Council decided to investigate the audio leak and established a high-level forum for this. The task of the Legal Department is to prepare the grounds for the investigation.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from the Syndicated News feed, the body of the content may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)