‘I won’t handover my BB handset unless satisfied’

As the UK-based forensic experts have warned against the examination of Blackberry phones outside the lab as it leaves certain data vulnerable to modification or tempering, Mansoor Ijaz has insisted on his involvement in the process of examination.
The central character of the memo scandal has said that he would not handover his devices for inspection to anyone unless he agreed to the inspecting firm’s protocols and was satisfied with its procedures.
On the other hand, Pakistan’s high commission in London has asked Attorney General (AG) Maulvi Anwar-ul-Haq whether the extraction of the deleted data was more important in the case or the verification of the available data. Pakistan’s embassy in Washington, on the question whether the Blackberry handsets used by Haqqani were owned by him or they were the property of the government of Pakistan, has informed the AG that there was no record of the embassy purchasing Blackberry handsets for use by Ambassador Haqqani, but at the same time it verified that a payment of $808.89 was reimbursed to the ambassador and the items were also entered in the stock register.
According to sources, the Pakistani high commission has informed the AG about the details of forensic experts it has identified to inspect the Blackberry handsets used by Mansoor Ijaz.
The high commission said it had contacted a number of forensic professional companies located in the UK to provide the services instructed by the memo commission as: to check and to verify if the data in the two Blackberry handsets of Mansoor Ijaz had been manipulated, interpolated, tempered with or introduced subsequently and retrieve the deleted BlackBerry messages; to check and verify if a particular email had been sent or received on a particular date and time and if its contents had been tempered with or not.
According to the documents exclusively available with Pakistan Today, the mission has short-listed only those companies that could provide the required services at the high commission as “It understands that Mansoor Ijaz would not handover the handsets and the laptop to be checked at the labs of the forensic companies”.
On the other hand, the forensic companies have warned the mission during initial negotiations that the extraction of data might involve the physical removal of the memory chip, and the handset might no longer remain in its original state, rendering the device inoperable for future use. It further said that the “completion dates cannot be guaranteed as a consequence of unpredictable nature of chip extraction. Examination outside the lab is not forensically sound practice as it may limit the experts’ ability to check the validity and retrieval of lost data e.g. outside the lab the experts are able to carry out live read on the Blackberry handsets and to get full image from the memory and in some model the BB chat data and also to find some application on the phone that would be evidence of the ability to manipulate data but not necessarily to show that certain data has been modified or tampered.”
The mission has contacted the companies duly certified by ISO with good reputation. The CY40R Limited has quoted approximately 2,040 pounds (plus 20 percent VAT) for the services. The Forensic Telecommunication Services Limited has quoted 1,500 pounds (plus 20 percent VAT) for the services.
Forensic Access Limited and Security and Investigation Professionals have also provided their quotations to the mission for the services. Secretary to the commission has also contacted certain forensic experts independently.
The mission has urgently sought information on the handset models and the computer used for emails. It has also contacted Ijaz directly for these details and also asked the attorney general: “Is the extraction of deleted data in the case is more important or the verification of the data available.”
The high commission has informed the AG that Ijaz had requested his involvement in the process of the selection of forensic experts. A text message sent to the high commission’s high-ups by Ijaz reads: “Please keep in mind before choosing anyone that I must agree to the firm’s protocols before I hand my devices over for inspection. I won’t do that unless I am independently satisfied with the procedures and that they know what they are talking about. And they must agree to let me be present during their inspection. So it might help to involve me in your process as well”.
In response to the queries put by the AG regarding the official cell phones in Haqqani’s use during his tenure as ambassador to the US, Pakistan’s embassy in Washington DC has informed: “As per our records, two Palm Treo 750 cell phones were purchased by former ambassador Haqqani against 808.89 dollars. The cost of the sets was later reimbursed to the ambassador. There is no record of the Mission purchasing Blackberry handsets for use by the ambassador.”
On the question whether the former ambassador had himself applied for, and got the services of the cell phone company, or the mission did that on his behalf, Pakistan’s embassy in Washington replied that the former ambassador had himself applied for the cell phone services. It further informed the AG that the mission was not the signatory of the agreement with the service provider, adding that the contract was between the former ambassador and the service provider.
On the question whether the Blackberry handsets used by the former ambassador were owned by him or they were the government of Pakistan’s property, the embassy replied that there is no record of the embassy purchasing BB handsets for use by Haqqani.
But on the other hand, the Embassy of Pakistan in Washington DC has sent a copy of “Fully Vouched Contingent Bill” for June 27, 2008, according to which payment was made on account of purchase of two Palm Treo 750 cell phones and cell phone covers for Haqqani’s official use. “The above item (two handsets) has been entered in stock register at page no. 24,” the copy of the bill reads.