External Affairs Ministry says no information on Pegasus row is available
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As far as the Pegasus spyware controversy is concerned, the Ministry of External Affairs has no information.
Arindam Bagchi, a spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, said the Supreme Court is investigating the alleged violation that was referred to it. MEA does not have any information on the matter.
Answering questions about a recent New York Times report, where it claimed India purchased Pegasus spyware in 2017 as part of a USD 2 billion defence deal with Israel.
Media reports stated Pegasus and a missile system were the centerpieces of a USD 2 billion deal involving sophisticated weapons and intelligence equipment between the two countries.
There was also a reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Israel in July 2017.
Bagchi said that during the visit of the Israeli Prime Minister in 2017, Intergovernmental Agreements were signed, the details of which were publicly available.
An international investigative consortium had claimed last year that many Indian ministers, politicians, activists, businessmen and journalists were potentially targeted by Pegasus, the phone-hacking software of Israeli firm NSO Group Technologies.