ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The National Assembly Wednesday passed the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Bill, 2015 aimed at controlling cyber crimes and ensuring national security besides safeguarding dignity, life and property of the citizens.
Severe punishments are proposed in the bill for cyber crimes related offences while children upto 14 years would be exempted from it.
Concrete steps are also proposed in the bill to ensure fundamental rights of the citizens.
State Minister for Information Technology Anusha Rehman Khan piloted the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Bill, 2015 in the House.
Members from various political parties including State Minister Anusha Rehman, Shazia Mari, Dr Shireen Mazari, Dr Arif Alvi, Ali Raza Abidi, Dr Azra Fazal, Ayesha Syed, S A Iqbal Qadri and others also proposed certain amendments to the bill which were mostly incorporated.
Some of the amendments proposed by the opposition members were later withdrawn by the movers.
Now under the law, terrorism, electronic fraud, exaggeration of forgery crimes, hate speeches, pornographic materials about children, illegal access of data (hacking) as well as interference with data and information system (DOS and DDOS attacks), specialized cyber related electronic forgery and electronic fraud, (electronic or cyber attack on the critical information, infrastructure), unauthorized interception conducted by the civilian, use of malicious code viruses, identity theft etc would be punishable acts.
