The Pakistan Software Houses Association for IT & ITES (P@SHA) has expressed serious concern over a rising number of National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) raids on legitimate software and IT-enabled services companies during its crackdown on scam centres. The association has asked the agency to distinguish genuine call centres and IT firms from fraudulent operations.
P@SHA said the industry recognises the importance of law enforcement, cybercrime investigations and accountability. It stressed, however, that such actions must follow a clearly defined legal framework, with due process, transparency and proportionality. It added that measures disrupting legitimate operations or restricting access to essential work equipment could damage the technology ecosystem.
The association said scam centres that defraud people in Pakistan and abroad harm reputation and legitimate IT exporters in the country. It stated that it fully supports lawful, evidence-based operations against such networks.
P@SHA said member companies have reported that NCCIA teams entered offices without presenting warrants, detained and questioned employees for hours, and took laptops, servers and phones into custody, even where no wrongdoing was found. It said such actions disrupt client services, put confidential foreign client data at risk and create uncertainty among employees and investors.
The association said IT is the only sector of Pakistan’s economy growing consistently at around 20 per cent annually. IT exports reached a record $4.6 billion in FY2025-26, up from $3.8 billion a year earlier. The government has set a target of $10 billion by FY2029 under Uraan Pakistan, with a national goal of $15 billion. Freelance exports grew by about 51 per cent in the first nine months of FY2026.
P@SHA Chairman Dr Shoab Ahmed Khan said: “Every single dollar is earned on trust. A foreign client who hears that his vendor’s office was raided and its servers taken away does not wait for the forensic report. He moves the contract to India, the Philippines or Eastern Europe.”
The association said Pakistan produces more than 70,000 computing graduates annually. It noted that the Ministry of IT and Telecom, Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB), Ignite, State Bank of Pakistan and Higher Education Commission are working towards the export targets, and that indiscriminate raids could undermine these efforts and encourage skilled young people to leave the country.
P@SHA said the NCCIA has itself acknowledged that some fraud operators registered their businesses as IT companies. It said this makes careful verification essential, rather than treating every office with computers and night-shift workers as suspicious.
The association called for the following measures:
- Every search should be conducted under a court warrant presented at the outset, in line with the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016 and the Code of Criminal Procedure, with staff, particularly women employees, treated respectfully.
- The NCCIA should verify the status of registered companies with PSEB and P@SHA through a designated focal person available round the clock.
- Where evidence is required, forensic copies should be made on site. Equipment not linked to an offence should be returned within seven days with a proper seizure memo.
- Foreign client data held under contractual and data-protection obligations should be handled under strict chain-of-custody procedures.
- Companies should not be publicly portrayed as criminal organisations before forensic findings and the filing of charges.
- A standing committee of the NCCIA, MoITT, PSEB and P@SHA should review complaints, share intelligence on scam operators and agree on procedures for raids on registered IT firms.
- Alleged physical abuse of employees during raids, and disruption of CCTV systems and other digital recording equipment, should end.
Dr Shoab Ahmed Khan said: “We will work hand in hand with NCCIA to root out the scam networks that give our country a bad name. We only ask that the law be enforced with precision so that the honest majority of the IT industry is protected, not punished.”
P@SHA said the technology sector cannot grow while businesses remain uncertain whether their operations, employees and equipment could face disruptive actions without transparent procedures. It has requested an urgent joint meeting with the minister for IT and telecom, the interior ministry and the NCCIA director general, and said it will share specific cases reported by member companies with the authorities.
