A Senate subcommittee was informed that 689 cases have been registered across Pakistan under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, with a number of them involving journalists, media workers and social media activists.
The meeting, chaired by Senator Sarmad Ali, reviewed the implementation of PECA and heard details from officials on cases filed in different parts of the country.
According to the data presented to the committee, Lahore and Multan recorded the highest number of cases, with 129 each, while Faisalabad reported 127 cases. Rawalpindi accounted for 72 cases. Officials also shared figures from other cities, including Islamabad with 10 cases, Quetta with 14 and Gilgit with one case. Peshawar, Abbottabad and Gujranwala also reported notable numbers of registered cases.
The committee was told that nine cases had been registered against journalists in Islamabad under PECA. Rawalpindi reported two such cases, while Karachi recorded one case involving a journalist.
Officials from the National Counter Cyber Crime Authority told the panel that a total of 41 cases had been registered against journalists, media personnel and social media activists.
During the meeting, Senator Waqar Mehdi questioned which authority currently held the power to register first information reports and carry out investigations under PECA.
In response, officials said provincial authorities no longer had the power to register FIRs under the law after investigative and enforcement powers were shifted from the Federal Investigation Agency to the National Counter Cyber Crime Authority under the revised framework.
Punjab Police officials told the committee they had been instructed not to register PECA cases. Sindh Police officials said 55 PECA-related cases had been registered in the province over the past two years, adding that 25 of them had already been transferred to the NCCIA.
The subcommittee was also informed that Punjab and Sindh were working on establishing dedicated cybercrime departments to strengthen their capacity to deal with cyber-related cases.
