Islamabad:
On Wednesday the Permanent Committee of the Senate on information and transmission was told that 372 cases had been illegally registered under the Law on the Prevention of Electronic Crimes (PECA) in the provinces, despite the recent amendments that prevent the provincial authorities from presenting said cases.
The Committee, who met here with Senator Ali Zafar in the President, discussed multiple issues, including violence against journalists, and received reports from officials from the Ministry of Information and the National Agency for Investigation of the Cyber Crime (NCCIA).
The officials informed the committee that after the amendments, only the NCCIA could register cases under peca. However, they added, 373 cases have still registered at the provincial level in violation of the law.
The Committee was informed that a total of 1,214 cases had been recorded throughout the country under Peca, including 10 journalists involved. It was reported that there have been no arrests in the 19 cases presented in Islamabad, the officials added.
The members of the committee indicated that the cases of the provinces were “wrong and illegal.” The president commented: “All these cases are illegal, what do we do with them?” Subsequently, the Committee formed a subcommittee to review the issue of illegal case records.
The meeting also reviewed financial fraud reports against parliamentarians. It was revealed that nine members of the National Assembly had been deceived through false calls and WhatsApp messages using the name of the Irfan Siddiqui ruling party.
The senator said he had filed four complaints, but no remedy was provided. The Nccia reported that 1.3 million RS1 had been recovered, four arrests were made and efforts were being made to catch the main suspect. He added that RS10 million had recovered in cases of WhatsApp piracy.
The Senator of the Popular Party of Pakistan (PPP) Waqar Mehdi raised concerns about the derogatory comments of a state television presenter against the people of Sindhi on social networks. The members recommended that a case be registered against the Anchorperson under a sin.
The NCCIA also reported 611 fraud and 320 cases of harassment throughout the country, while warning that SIMs obtained were illegally used for terrorism. Senator Pervaiz Rasheed complained about threats after a Senate speech.
The journalist Tayyab Baloch how he was mistreated by the supporters of the political party recently also appeared at the committee meeting. The journalist was asked to submit his demands in writing.
