IANS | 04 May, 2024
Pakistan government's decision to form a national agency called the
National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) has raised concerns in
the country with several experts citing that the move would not only
gravely affect citizens' right to privacy but is also aimed at targeting
the massive social media presence of jailed ex-PM Imran Khan's Pakistan
Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.
The Establishment Division of the
Pakistan government announced the formation of NCCIA with the prime
focus on countering propaganda and rumours on social media and
safeguarding the digital rights of people.
"There must be an end
to harassment, including online," said Federal Minister for Information
and Broadcast Attaullah Tarar on Thursday.
He added that there was
an "immediate and dire need" of an authority like NCCIA to address the
issue of online harassment and also to protect the digital rights of
consumers.
However, security experts do not agree with the
government and have expressed serious concerns over the negative effects
on the citizen's right to privacy.
"It raises concerns that go
beyond the duplication of efforts and resources, the move may also
gravely affect citizen's right to privacy which seems to have been
overlooked in the rush to bolster cyber defences," said Khawaja Khalid
Farooq, former Inspector General of Police and ex-head of National
Counter-Terrorism Authority.
Another view states that the military
establishment wants to have a strong strategy and authority in place to
tackle the anti-establishment campaigns run by PTI through its large
presence on social media.
"PTI is the only political party in
Pakistan with a very strong social media presence. Its campaigns and
social media teams have the strongest influence on the masses through
social media engagements," says senior political analyst Javed Siddique.
"The
anti-military sentiments have prevailed and broadly expressed on social
media platforms by PTI and Imran Khan's supporters. NCCIA may be
designated and directed to work with prime focus on tackling the
dissemination of PTI-led anti-establishment campaigns on social media
under the legal cover of the controversial PECA act," he adds.
It
is pertinent to note that formation of NCCIA would render the
already-existing Cyber Crime wing of the Federal Investigation Agency
(FIA) as defunct.
As per the notification in the Gazette of
Pakistan, the formation of NCCIA has been formed under Section 51 of the
Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016 (PECA). The notification also
mentioned that NCCIA would take over the cyber crime investigations of
the FIA Cyber Crime Wing in December 2024, adding that FIA would now
cease to perform functions as designated agency under the act.
"The
NCCIA will be headed by a Director General, chosen by the federal
government to serve a two-year term. The NCCIA chief would exercise the
powers of an Inspector General of Police while the agency's affairs
related to the federal government's business would be allocated to the
Interior Division," the Gazette of Pakistan notification maintained.
Experts,
however, believe that the formation of NCCIA is irrelevant because FIA
cyber crime wing has got the framework, requisite capabilities and is
equipped to deal with cyber threats.
"Creating the NCCIA to
replace the FIA's cyber crime wing could result in an overlap of
responsibilities, leading to bureaucratic inefficiencies and confusion,"
said Farooq.
"There is a risk that the pursuit of cyber security,
privacy rights could be compromised without stringent checks and
balances in place," he added.
Another view states that the
military establishment wants to have a strong strategy and authority in
place to tackle the strong social media presence of Pakistan
Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) that targets the military establishment.
"PTI
is the only political party in Pakistan with a very strong social media
presence. Its campaigns and social media teams have the strongest
influence on the masses through social media engagements. The
anti-military sentiments have prevailed and broadly expressed on social
media platforms by PTI and Imran Khan's supporters. NCCIA may be
designated and directed to work with prime focus on tackling the
dissemination of PTI led anti-establishment campaigns on social media
under the legal cover of the controversial PECA act," said senior
political analyst Javed Siddique.