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August 8, 2025 - Comments Off on Peshawar man arrested for cyber harassment

Peshawar man arrested for cyber harassment

Police in Peshawar arrested a man on charges of harassment and blackmailing a woman through social media. According to the First Information Report (FIR), the suspect created fake accounts to target the woman, threatening her with doctored images and messages. The Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) cybercrime wing took action after the victim lodged a complaint, leading to the suspect’s arrest. Authorities confirmed that devices were seized for forensic examination. The case is being investigated under relevant sections of Pakistan’s cybercrime laws, with officials reiterating their commitment to addressing online harassment. According to the Digital Rights Foundation’s annual 2024 report, 3,171 complaints of tech-facilitated gender-based violence were received across Pakistan in 2024, highlighting the broader scale of such online abuse.

January 22, 2025 - Comments Off on Digital Nation Pakistan Bill is Approved: Government

Digital Nation Pakistan Bill is Approved: Government

The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on IT and Telecommunications approved the Digital Nation Pakistan Bill (DNPB, though not unanimously. Tabled in mid-December 2024 but then deferred for further review, the DNPB has been promoted by the government, particularly the Minister for IT, Shaza Fatima Khawaja, as making “services more accessible through mobile phones, reducing queues in government offices”. The Minister also asserted that the Bill would not centralise data, and that “no agency, including NADRA, holds centralised data.”

 

Standing Committee members critical of the DNPB in its current form questioned the need for a Digital Commission. They also argued against implementing the Bill without tackling internet disruptions and shoddy internet infrastructure, or implementing data protection legislation first.