Islamabad:
The Senate Standing Committee on Information and TV Sprout was told on Wednesday that 372 cases were illegally registered in accordance with the Prevention of the Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) in the provinces, despite the recent changes that prevent provincial authorities from filing such cases.
The committee, who met here with Senator Ali Zafar in the chairman, discussed several questions, including violence against journalists, and received briefings from officials in the Ministry of Information and the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA).
Officials informed the Committee that only NCCIA after the amendments could register cases under PECA. However, they added that 373 cases are still registered at the provincial level in violation of the law.
The committee was informed that a total of 1,214 cases had been registered nationwide under PECA, including 10 involving journalists. It was informed that no arrests have been made in the 19 cases filed in Islamabad, the officials added.
Committee members noted that the cases in the provinces were “wrong and illegal.” The President noted, “All these cases are illegal – what do we do with them now?” The committee then formed a subcommittee to review the issue of illegal case registrations.
The meeting also reviewed reports of financial fraud against parliamentarians. It was revealed that nine National Assembly members had been deceived through fake calls and WhatsApp messages using the name of the reigning party Senator Irfan Siddiqui.
The senator said he had filed four complaints, but no means was delivered. NCCIA reported that RS1.3 million had been recovered, four arrests were made and the biggest suspect was in the process of catching the biggest suspect. It added that RS10 million had been recovered in WhatsApp -Hacking cases.
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Senator Waqar Mehdi raised concerns about the derogatory remarks of a state -of -the -art anchor against Sindhi people on social media. Members recommended that a case register against the anchor under PECA.
NCCIA also reported 611 fraud and 320 harassment cases nationwide, while warning that illegally obtained Sims were used for terrorism. Senator Pervaiz Rasheed complained about threats after a Senate speech.
Journalist Tayyab Baloch, how was mannered by a political party’s supporters recently also appeared at the committee meeting. He journalist was asked to present his claims in writing.
