ISLAMABAD: The Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat has directed Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to vigilantly monitor all illegal activities and strictly check use of cellular numbers for cyber crimes, especially financially defrauding people.
The Committee further directed the authority to also conduct performance evaluation of cellular companies to check the issues of weak mobile signals.
The Committee met with MNA Kishwer Zehra in the chair at the Parliament House, on Wednesday.
It was apprised that the PTA has regularly been monitoring fraudulent calls made from domestic and international numbers and had taken various measures with the help of cellular companies to stop such calls. The PTA representative further informed the Committee that action had been initiated against the subscribers against whom complaints have been filed.
He assured the Committee that the authority would vigilantly monitor all illegal activities and misuse of cellular numbers.
Regarding illegally issued SIMs, the PTA representative informed that the system has been refined for issuance of SIM through live detection of finger prints.
The representative of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) also apprised the Committee about the issue under discussion. He informed that cyber crimes were being dealt under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act.
He informed that money fraudulently deducted from the bank accounts does not come under the purview of the PECA and the same should be dealt by the State Bank of Pakistan.
The Committee after thorough discussion decided not to recommend the Benazir Income Support Programme (Amendment) Bill, 2020 and the National Poverty Reduction Bill, 2021 moved by MNAs Naveed Aamir Jeeva and Uzma Riaz, respectively for passage.
The Committee was of the view that existing provision of both the laws suffice, thus, the amendment proposed by the members would either be duplication or would limit the scope of the existing laws.
The Committee recommended that the Poverty Alleviation Council established under the Benazir Income Support Programme be made functional at the earliest and members from the Senate and National Assembly be included it.
The Committee pended discussion on the Starred Question No 52 and 75, moved by MNAs, Syed Mehmood Shah, Murtaza Javed Abbasi respectively; The Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal (Amendment) Bill, 2021 and the Benazir Income Support Programme (Amendment) Bill, 2021 moved by Naveed Aamir till its next meeting.
The meeting was attended by Ali Muhammad Khan, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, MNAs; Ali Nawaz Awan, Khawaja Sheraz Mehmood, Uzma Riaz, Rasheed Ahmad Khan, Rana Iradat Sharif Khan, Shahnaz Saleem Malik, Seema Mohiuddin Jameeli, Raza Rabani Khar, Mir Ghulam Ali Talpur, Mover Naveed AamirJeeva, Secretary Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division, and other officers of the concerned departments.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021