Senate Panel urges FIR against TV anchor, reveals misuse of PECA & financial frauds

ISLAMABAD (Rizwan Abbasi): The Senate Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting has recommended that a case be registered under the Cybercrime Act (PECA) against a state television anchor over an allegedly hateful vlog targeting the Sindhi community.

The committee meeting, chaired by Senator Ali Zafar, was held at PTV Headquarters on Wednesday. Key issues discussed included violence against journalists, misuse of PECA, financial frauds, hacking, and social media regulation. Officials from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) gave a detailed briefing to the committee.

PPP Senator Waqar Mehdi raised the issue of PTV anchor Rizwan Razi, accusing him of making inflammatory and derogatory remarks about the Sindhi community in a vlog. Following the discussion, the committee recommended that an FIR be lodged under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA).

NCCIA officials revealed that 1,214 cases have so far been registered under PECA—only 10 of them involving journalists. Of the total, 611 cases were related to financial fraud and 320 to harassment. The officials also expressed concern about the use of illegal SIM cards for terrorism-related activities.

Another shocking revelation emerged during the meeting: 9 Members of the National Assembly were victims of financial fraud carried out using the name of Senator Irfan Siddiqui. According to Siddiqui, the fraudsters impersonated him and solicited money, tricking multiple parliamentarians. Despite several complaints, no significant action had been taken. Authorities confirmed that Rs. 1.3 million has been recovered and four suspects arrested so far, with efforts underway to apprehend the main culprit.

Senator Pervaiz Rasheed also complained that he received threats and abusive messages after a speech in Parliament, yet no one had reached out to investigate or offer protection.

The NCCIA officials further informed the committee that the federal cabinet has approved rules for a Social Media Regulatory Authority, and recruitment advertisements will be published soon.

The meeting also disclosed that 372 PECA cases registered in provinces were found to be illegal. Officials clarified that under the latest PECA amendment, provincial authorities can no longer directly register cases; instead, they must refer them to NCCIA. In response, Chairman Senator Ali Zafar questioned how these illegal cases would be addressed.

To deal with the issue, the committee decided to form a sub-committee to investigate and resolve the matter of illegal provincial cases.

Journalist Tayyab Baloch also appeared before the committee and was instructed by the chairman to submit his complaints in writing so that all parties involved could be properly heard.