Cybercrime Law in Pakistan (PECA-2016)

click here to download PECA-2016 (in pdf format)

The law on cybercrime is a relatively new one in the Pakistani legal system, and most of it has been derived from laws being practiced in other countries. Since cybercrime is different from street crime, the laws and policies drafted by law enforcement agencies, precautions taken by citizens, especially young girls and boys (such as not disclosing passwords, emails, or barcodes with personal information, or opening suspicious links, etc.), and educational and awareness campaigns on cybercrime must also be synchronized and updated accordingly to combat the causes of this curse. It is surprising to note that many cybercrimes remain unresolved due to a lack of cyber forensics and the unavailability of forensic labs and experts.

With the existence of a cybercrime law, the ratio of cybercrime may well be on its way to decreasing; however, the legislation needs to be frequently upgraded given the technological advancements in our society as well as the best practices and rules evolving internationally.