Cyber crime bill major step to secure business: Leghari

Minister for Information Technology Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari has said the adoption of cyber crime bill by the federal cabinet is a major step towards ensuring a secure business environment and promotion of e-commerce.
He said the e-crime bill, to be tabled in the parliament very soon, would help draw more business and improve Pakistan's e-readiness ranking as reflected in indices maintained by various agencies and business journals of the world.
Chairing a meeting at his office, the minister said the committee constituted by prime minister and headed by Syed Shariffuddin Pirzada would recommend the need for constitution of a new specialised agency within a month or assigning the task to any of the existing law-enforcement agencies to implement the law.
He said the e-crime law would require the internet companies maintain their traffic data for at least six months to enable the agencies to investigate cases involving data stored by them.
He said the government would create special IT tribunals in Islamabad as well as provincial headquarters to investigate and check growing incidents of crimes, which remained unpunished for the lack of a specific law.
Leghari said the proposed law titled as Prevention of Electronic Crimes Bill 2006 offers penalties ranging from six months imprisonment to capital punishment for 17 types of cyber crimes, including cyber terrorism, hacking of websites and criminal access to secure data.
He said the government had followed a thorough consultative process, including study of similar laws being practised in 42 countries, to firm up the draft bill, which after being passed by the legislature, would render reprehensible acts such as criminal intimidation and sexual harassment through internet, financial fraud and identity theft, hacking, illegal access to highly sensitive data and cyber terrorism which had become a global phenomenon.
He said the law would enable the government to seek extradition of foreign nationals through Interpol for their involvement in criminal activities punishable under the law.
"This law would work like other laws of the country and the agencies would be able to seek extradition of foreign nationals residing in countries, which have mutual extradition treaties, signed with Pakistan," he added.