NCCIA | Pakistan

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said on Monday that the information ministry, along with the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA), would be taking action “on a massive scale” against fake news. The minister said this during a press conference in Lahore, where he said he believed that “since the past few days, past few weeks, 90 per cent news on social media is fake”. Saying so, Naqvi also clarified that he believed in the freedom of expression and liberty to criticise. He also highlighted that in case false news was reported by a platform in the mainstream media, a complaint could be registered with the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority. Similarly, he continued, a reporter associated with a news outlet would be answerable to their director news or the bureau chief in such a scenario. “But, on social media one can post any photo, make news as per their wish and post it,” he said, adding that he had spoken to the information minister today morning, and “we will not allow this”. Naqvi ad...

The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) has carried out a sweeping administrative overhaul, removing several senior and mid-level officers from their posts following a series of corruption allegations and internal performance reviews.

The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) has arrested a suspect accused of selling the personal data of Pakistani citizens online.

A Lahore judicial magistrate on Monday awarded three days of physical remand to seven National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) officials and a private individual in a case registered against them for allegedly misusing their authority, extorting money, and taking bribes. Last week, a Lahore court granted the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) a three-day physical remand of the officials, while a judicial magistrate extended their physical remand for three more days on Friday. According to a copy of the remand order available with Dawn.com, while the initial allegation involved a bribe of Rs9 million, the amount recovered by the investigating officer was Rs42.5m. “After hearing argument and perusal of record, it transpires that complainant … moved [an] application that she paid [Rs9m] illegal gratification to Shoaib Riaz AD/FIA, who was [the] investigation officer (IO) in [the] case of her husband,” the order read. “Complainant also alleged that she got knowledge that a corruption network in NCCIA is ...

A court has issued a written order extending the physical remand of six officers from the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA), who were arrested on charges of bribery.

A Lahore court on Friday extended the physical remand of six National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) officials by another three days in a case pertaining to the alleged misuse of authority, extortion of money, and acceptance of bribes. The first information report (FIR) of the case was registered with the FIA Anti-Corruption Circle Lahore on the complaint of Aroob Jatoi, the wife of YouTuber Saadur Rehman alias Ducky Bhai, who has been arrested in a case pertaining to promoting gambling apps on social media. The FIR was registered against a total of nine individuals, including eight NCCIA officials. Among them, the six remanded in the FIA custody were said to be missing for several days before the FIA announced their arrest on Monday. Lahore NCCIA’s Additional Director Sarfraz Chaudhry, Lahore NCCIA Deputy Director (acting in-charge) Zawar Ahmad, Lahore NCCIA Sub-Inspector Ali Raza, Lahore NCCIA Assistant Director Shoaib Riaz, Lahore NCCIA Sub-Inspector Yasir Ramzan and Lahore NCCIA Assistant Direct...

ISLAMABAD - The latest scandal engulfing the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) has exposed the entrenched institutional corruption, poor oversight and a lack of resolve of a state institution to tackle the growing threat of online crime.

The federal government replaced the director general of the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) on Tuesday amid an ongoing corruption scandal concerning its employees and other issues. The federal government established the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) to probe illegal activities on social med­ia. The NCCIA, operating under the Interior Divi­sion, has a key role in combating cybercrime in Pakistan. Notifications issued from the Cabinet Secretariat’s Establishment Division today said Syed Khurram Ali, a BS-21 officer of the police service, was appointed as the new NCCIA DG with immediate effect, replacing Waqaruddin Syed, who was directed to report to the division immediately. The latter was appointed to the role in April. Earlier today, a Lahore court granted the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) a three-day physical remand of six NCCIA officials in a case registered against them for allegedly misusing their authority, extorting money and taking bribes. The first informatio...

A Lahore court on Tuesday granted the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) a three-day physical remand of six National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) officials in a case registered against them for allegedly misusing their authority, extorting money and taking bribes. The first information report (FIR) of the case has been registered with the FIA Anti-Corruption Circle Lahore on the complaint of Aroob Jatoi, the wife of YouTuber Saadur Rehman alias Ducky Bhai, who has been arrested in a case pertaining to promoting gambling apps on social media. The FIR, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, was registered a total of nine individuals, including eight NCCIA officials, at 7:35pm yesterday. Among them, the six remanded in the FIA custody were said to be missing for several days before the FIA announced their arrest yesterday. Meanwhile, the whereabouts of another official nominated in the case — Muhammad Usman, the NCCIA deputy director of operations in Islamabad — have also been unknown for severa...

The FIA Anti-Corruption Circle Lahore has registered a case against nine officers of the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA), including six who had been missing for several days, for allegedly misusing their authority and accepting bribes.

The Federal Investigation Agency has arrested six personnel of the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) on allegations of misusing their authority and taking bribes, their lawyer said on Monday. Barrister Mian Ali Ashfaq told Dawn.com the six were “taken into FIA custody and arrested on charges of misuse of authority and bribery”. He said they would be produced in a district court on Tuesday and he would represent them. Ashfaq said the six were Additional Director Chaudhry Sarfraz, In-charge Zawar, Sub-Inspector Ali Raza, Assistant Director Shoaib Riaz, Yasir Gujjar and Mujtaba Kamran. Chaudhry was reportedly removed over different controversies last month and asked to report to the NCCIA headquarters, Islamabad. He said he was transferred to the headquarters and he had sought a six-month leave. The three controversies were about laying hands on a number of YouTubers/social media influencers, including Saadur Rehman, popularly known as Ducky Bhai and Rajab Butt, for their alleged involvement in u...

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday gave police another seven days to locate a National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) deputy director, who was allegedly abducted earlier this month. The development came during the hearing of a petition filed by Rozina Usman for the recovery of her husband Muhammad Usman. She alleged that four armed individuals abducted her husband on October 14. At the previous hearing, the court had given the police three days to locate the missing official. Resuming the hearing of the case today, Justice Muhammad Azam Khan asked the police about the progress made in the case. “What is the progress? You were given three days,” said the justice. District Superintendent of Police (DSP) Legal Sajid Cheema informed the court that investigations were “underway” to trace the NCCIA official, adding that the senior superintendent of police investigation was looking into the matter. “The missing deputy director was investigating the Ducky Bhai case,” the DSP said, referring to a case ...

The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) said on Wednesday that it had booked PTI MNA Shandana Gulzar under the country’s cybercrime laws for spreading misinformation about Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s trip to Egypt to attend the signing of the Gaza ceasefire agreement. PM Shehbaz visited Egypt last week to participate in the Sharm el-Sheikh Peace Summit and attend the signing ceremony of a peace agreement aimed at ending the Gaza conflict. Among his many engagements with world leaders, the premier had also met with President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia, where all three leaders expressed satisfaction over the recent ceasefire in the besieged Palestinian enclave. Fact-checking platform iVerify Pakistan noted that posts from multiple users on social media platform X, particularly PTI supporters, since October 13, had shared a low quality and blurry image of the meeting with the Armenian premier , claiming it showed PM Shehbaz and Israeli PM Benjamin N...

ISLAMABAD - The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Mon­day gave police three days to recover the deputy director of the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA), who was allegedly abducted from the federal capital last week.

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday gave police a three-day ultimatum to recover the deputy director of the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA), who was allegedly abducted earlier this month. The court issued the directives while presiding over the hearing of a plea filed by Rozina Usman for the recovery of her husband Muhammad Usman, who she has alleged was taken away by four armed individuals on October 14. IHC Justice Muhammad Azam Khan heard the petition while Advocate Raja Rizwan Abbasi appeared in court on behalf of the wife. During the hearing, the court directed that if police failed to recover the official within three days, the NCCIA central director and the Islamabad inspector general should appear in court in person. Meanwhile, Abbasi told the court that he was unaware of the whereabouts of his client. “I don’t know where the petitioner is; I fear she may have also been abducted,” Abbasi told the court. He added that the petitioner had called him saying she was being pressured t...

The National Cybercrime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) on Saturday arrested three people suspected of gang-raping and blackmailing a minor in Abbottabad, according to a police official. Haripur Sub-Inspector (SI) Basit Ashraf said in a statement that the suspects were part of a gang who allegedly raped a minor boy at gunpoint and filmed the assault, using the footage as blackmail. “The NCCIA carried out an operation in Abbottabad,” he was quoted as saying. “The NCCIA registered a case against nine suspects … they assaulted the victim multiple times and blackmailed him and his family with the videos.” SI Ashraf said that the suspects allegedly shared the videos on WhatsApp and used them to blackmail the victim’s family. “Mobile phones and pornographic videos were recovered from the suspects during the raids,” he stated, adding that they would be used as evidence. In July, Haripur police arrested a seminary teacher for allegedly sexually abusing a visually-impaired five-year-old child in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Hari...

LAHORE - The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday suspended notices issued by the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) to six journalists, including Lahore Press Club President Arshad Ansari.

Six journalists, including Lahore Press Club President Muhammad Arshad Ansari, approached the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday to challenge notices issued by the National Cybercrime Investigation Agency (NCCIA). The petition, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, named the NCCIA director, deputy director and inspector from Lahore as well as the director general from Islamabad as respondents in the case. The petitioners were named as Ansari, Sheikh Mujahid Latif, Sheraz Nisar, Ahmed Faraz, Yasir Shamoon and Waseem Sabir. According to the petition, the journalists’ professional duty was to cover criminal cases and highlight issues and defects in the police administration. Further, it said that the petitioners had criticised the formation of the Crime Control Department, the appointment of Lahore Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Faisal Kamran without merit and the increasing crime rate in Lahore. The journalists contended that this prompted DIG Kamran to “launch malicious social media campaigns ...

PTI social media activist Falak Javed Khan has been arrested by the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) in a case pertaining to the fake videos of Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari being uploaded on social media, her lawyer said on Wednesday. The PTI alleged that she was arrested in Islamabad last night. Her lawyer, Advocate Mian Ali Ashfaq, confirmed to Dawn.com today that she was arrested in the fake videos case. “My team and I will appear in Lahore District Court tomorrow in Falak Javed’s case. We will provide full legal assistance in Falak Javed’s case. If NCCIA applies for Falak Javed’s physical remand, we will oppose it. The case is being reviewed from all angles,” he said. The Punjab minister had sought action last year in July against the persons involved in sharing her edited images on social media. She alleged that Falak edited and spread her images on social media. The minister said a request was made to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) under the Peca (Prevention of Elect...

The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) has summoned YouTuber Rajab Butt on September 9 to join an inquiry regarding his alleged promotion of online gambling apps, it emerged on Friday. Butt has one of the largest online followings in the country and has been embroiled in controversy for years, including over his brief custody of a lion cub. A notice by the NCCIA on Thursday to the YouTuber said the allegation against him was of “involvement in financial scams through online trading apps, motivating youth for investments in online gambling app, use of social media platforms to project online gambling investments, designed an orchestrated scheme for looting innocent people hard-earned income on basis of convincing them to invest in unregistered/non-licenced online apps”. It directed him to appear in person before NCCIA Assistant Director Shoaib Riaz to record his version in his defence at Lahore’s NCCIA Office on Tuesday at 11am for a fair trial process. “In case of non-appearance, it will be ass...