Government must come clean on Pegasus

Was it used to hack into phones of Indian citizens?

Fresh media revelations that the Narendra Modi government bought Israeli spyware Pegasus in 2017 as part of a $2 billion package for sophisticated weapons and intelligence gear have again brought the controversy over illegal surveillance to the forefront. The report has claimed that the deal was made during Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Israel that year. Ever since a global investigative consortium reported last July that a number of persons, including politicians, activists, judges and journalists were targeted using Pegasus, the government’s role has come under scrutiny.

The government has refused to make its stand clear on whether it had purchased the software, though the NSO Group, the company which made the software, has stated that it had been sold only to governments. The report had given rise to a political row because it pointed to extensive and illegal hacking of the phones of many citizens, mostly those opposing the Modi government’s ideology, policies and actions. Some of those whose names were made public got their phones examined and found that they had been infiltrated with the spyware. The revelations by New York Times are not just a repetition of the old charges. There are more details that call for convincing responses. The government should come clean and put its record straight on the matter. Its positions till now, including in Parliament, have not been credible.

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The government has not given clear answers even to the Supreme Court where a petition was filed over the use of Pegasus on Indian citizens. The court found the government’s answers unsatisfactory and unacceptable. It also said the government could not get a free pass every time on the ground of national security and noted that the public had the right to know whether the spyware was used illegally against citizens. It set up a three-member committee to investigate the matter and report to it. But this should not be an excuse for the government to withhold information, claiming that the matter is sub-judice.

The Pegasus spyware is military-grade technology that can be used to target foreign threats. It can be used not only to conduct textual, audio and video surveillance on targets using their own smartphones and computers, it can also be used to take control of those devices and plant and manipulate files on them. It may be par for the course for spy agencies to use such capabilities against foreign targets, but using them on Indian citizens is unacceptable. There is widespread suspicion that such things have been done. If that is indeed the case, the government’s moral authority to continue in office may come under question. This is the importance of the Pegasus case. And this is why the government must come clean on the whole affair.

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