ISLAMABAD: The Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights decided on Wednesday to summon the director general (DG) of National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) in its next meeting scheduled for July 17 and directed the DG NCCIA to personally brief the committee on the status of online complaint portal, delays in complaint processing, enforcement timelines, institutional response protocols and corrective measures being taken to improve the agency’s performance.
The Senate committee also sought a detailed briefing on the revised mechanism for registration of FIRs in blasphemy cases and directed that the committee be briefed on every step of the procedure so that due process, fair investigation, protection of innocent persons and prevention of misuse of law were fully ensured.
The committee further decided to seek a briefing from the ministry concerned on the growing incidence of HIV cases in Sindh, particularly among children. The Senate functional committee met under the chairpersonship of Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri to review the performance of NCCIA, delays in cybercrime complaint redressal, progress in the murder case of Lahore resident Ahmed Javed and the procedure being followed in blasphemy-related cases.
The committee expressed serious concern over delays in processing cybercrime complaints and the reported technical issues in the NCCIA online complaint portal.
Senator Qurat-ul-Ain Marri informed the committee that a sustained online campaign had been launched against her and her family on social media, and that no effective action had been taken despite filing a formal complaint through legal counsel.
The NCCIA officials informed the committee that technical and operational constraints had affected the online complaint system. They added that written complaints could also be submitted through legal representatives for immediate processing and that remedial work on the portal was under way.
The committee was informed that action regarding blocking or restricting objectionable online content was generally completed within 15 days. Committee Chairperson Senator Mumtaz Zehri expressed dissatisfaction over the delay and observed that no complainant, whether a parliamentarian or an ordinary citizen, should be left helpless due to technical excuses or institutional inaction. She emphasised that the dignity, privacy and safety of citizens must be protected through a prompt and effective complaint redressal mechanism. The committee also took notice of complaints regarding false and malicious content against elected representatives. Senator Rana Mahmood-ul-Hassan informed the committee that fabricated allegations had been spread against him on social media and that no meaningful action had been taken despite approaching the agency concerned.
In view of these concerns, the committee decided to summon the DG NCCIA in its next meeting on July 17. The DG had been directed to personally brief the committee on the status of the online complaint portal, delays in complaint processing, enforcement timelines, institutional response protocols and corrective measures being taken to improve the agency’s performance.
The committee received a briefing from the Punjab home secretary on blasphemy-related cases. The committee was informed that the Punjab government had constituted a special committee to examine such cases and that two meetings had already been held.
The home secretary said that an inter-agency coordination mechanism had also been established to strengthen prosecution, improve coordination and streamline legal proceedings. The committee was further informed that online blasphemy-related content was being monitored through a dedicated monitoring centre and actionable reports were forwarded to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) for necessary legal and regulatory action. The home secretary stated that during Muharram alone, approximately 3,000 complaints relating to online blasphemy content were referred to the PTA.Senator Aimal Wali Khan emphasised that the rights and protection of minorities must be ensured at all costs and called for proper redressal of grievances of the Christian community, particularly in relation to the Faisalabad matter. The committee was told that each case would be examined individually for appropriate redressal.
Chairperson Senator Mumtaz Zehri sought a detailed briefing on the revised mechanism for registration of FIRs in blasphemy cases. She directed that the committee be briefed on every step of the procedure so that due process, fair investigation, protection of innocent persons and prevention of misuse of law were fully ensured. The committee also decided to seek a briefing from the ministry concerned on the growing incidence of HIV cases in Sindh, particularly among children.
