According to an investigation by The Washington Post, The Guardian and 15 other media partners led by the Paris-based journalism nonprofit Forbidden Stories, Prime Minister Imran Khan and Indian politician Rahul Gandhi were among other politicians, activist and journalists from across the world who have been targeted by governments using spyware program leased to them by the Israeli surveillance company NSO Group.

Also known as Pegasus Project, the software was used in tracking and hijacking of smartphones. However, the PM Imran Khan was on the Indian list.

According to The Guardian, Pegasus is a malware that infects iPhones and Android devices to enable operators of the tool to extract messages, photos and emails, record calls and secretly activate microphones.

The investigation reveals a list of more than 50,000 phone numbers that, it is believed, have been identified as those of people of interest by clients of NSO since 2016.

The list has at least one number which was once used by Pakistani leader Imran Khan. However, no government official has given any response so far.