On May 06, the Sub-Committee of the Senate Standing Committee on Information & Broadcasting convened in Islamabad, led by Senator Sarmad Ali. The meeting included Senators Syed Waqar Mehdi and Jan Muhammad, and representatives from the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA), provincial and federal police forces (Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Islamabad), and legal experts.
During the session, it was disclosed that 13 FIRs had been filed against journalists, with 11 cancelled after preliminary investigations. The committee also learned about the registration of 689 FIRs concerning cybercrimes involving the general public.
In response to a query about filing FIRs in cybercrime cases, attendees were informed that recent amendments to the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), 2025, now prohibit police stations from registering cybercrime FIRs. Such cases are forwarded to the NCCIA for investigation. However, when online activities lead to physical crimes, dual FIRs may be lodged: one for the cyber aspect with the NCCIA and another for the conventional crime with the relevant provincial police.
Further discussions touched upon the rapid advancements in digital and cyber spaces. This includes a proposal under consideration to establish a provincial body similar to the NCCIA in Punjab to alleviate workload pressures; Sindh Police is also contemplating a similar setup.
The meeting revealed that approximately 140 million individuals in Pakistan are active in cyberspace, with around 20 percent of social media accounts being fake and frequently used for malicious purposes like fraud, harassment, and blackmail. The complexity of identifying individuals behind these fake accounts often necessitates international cooperation with social media platforms.
A representative from the NCCIA briefed that the agency is coordinating closely with Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police to bolster cybercrime fighting measures. The representative highlighted the agency’s success in engaging with global platform providers, noting an 83 percent response rate to Pakistan’s requests compared to 74.7 percent for India.
The committee was informed that in the past year, the NCCIA received approximately 154,000 complaints, and has developed its rules, which have been submitted to the Ministry of Interior for approval.
The session concluded with Senator Sarmad Ali emphasizing the necessity to strengthen the NCCIA for more effective performance. The Sub-Committee recommended that all relevant cases should be transferred to the NCCIA on a priority basis and called for detailed reports on transferred and pending cases to be presented in the next meeting.
