Amidst the Pegasus spyware scandal, more than 25 people from the Kashmir Valley were recorded as the potential targets of intrusive surveillance between 2017 and mid-2019 by an unidentified government that is also believed to be the client of the Israeli company, NSO Group.
Separatist Leader Falls As Potential Target, The Wire Reports
As per the latest reports, amongst the separatist leaders, politicians, journalists and business persons from Kashmir were under the “potential targets” list. Of these, The Wire reported that with the forensic analysis they conducted on two phones of spearatist leader Bilal Lone and the late S.A.R Geelani.
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Lone’s phone information was examined by Amnesty International’s Security Lab. Even though the phone was not the same as the one which he used when was listed as a “potential target”. The report revealed that there were signs of Pegasus targeting.
However , The Wire and its media partners noted that just because a number appeared in the leaked database may not necessarily mean that the number in question has been infected. But it does mean that the phone number was selected for “potential surveillance”.
Former J&K CM Also Chosen As “Potential Target”
Other names in the leaked database include People’s Democratic Party chief and former Chief Minister of J&K Mehbooba Mufti’s family. The Wire reported that their selection
Others on the leaked database include at least two members of People’s Democratic party (PDP) chief and former chief minister of J&K Mehbooba Mufti’s family. Their selection came while Mufti was the Chief Minister of the state, in coalition with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
J&K Apni Party president Altaf Bukhari’s brother Tariq Bukhari also makes an appearance in the list and was of considerable interest to the agency which added his name between 2017 and 2019.
