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Interior minister says FIA tasked to protect citizens against cybercriminals
ISLAMABAD – The federal government on Friday ordered a fresh crackdown against those people involved in harassing, blackmailing and maligning citizens on social media platforms.
“I have advised Director General FIA to take stringent action against the people involved in cybercrimes,” said Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan after chairing a meeting on the issue.
“No one will be allowed to use social media as a tool for harassing, blackmailing, maligning, and advertising unethical content as we have a zero-tolerance policy for it.”
The minister said that FIA, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), and other institutions will work in a liaison to counteract the menace of cybercrimes.
Earlier, the minister chaired a high-level meeting to review cases of harassment, blackmailing and character assassination of citizens and uploading of immoral videos on so cial media platforms. The presence of immoral and offensive content on social media threatens anarchy in the society, the minister was quoted as saying this in the meeting that was also attended by Director General FIA Muhammad Tahir Rai and caretaker Chairman National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) Brigadier (retd) Khalid Latif besides others. Rana Sanaullah further directed the FIA, PTA and other agencies to play an active role in protecting the self-esteem of the citizens and protecting them from harassment and blackmail, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Interior. It was decided in the meeting that crackdown would be launched on those who are involved in harassing citizens and discrediting them and tarnishing “image of public” by promoting immoral content on social media. The meeting also decided to make effective laws on cybercrime, especially about harassment and uploading and advertising insulting content on social media The meeting approved formation of a working group to make necessary amendments in the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016 on the issues of harassment, character assassination and uploading of unethical content on social media. The group will present its recommendations to the interior ministry after holding consultations with all stakeholders.
