Cyber-crime bribery scam

Corruption has entrenched itself so deeply in the fabric of our governance system that it is now rotting institutions from within. Now the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) has been laid bare as yet another institution corroded by the very greed it was meant to confront.

The allegations are nothing short of alarming. A cluster of 15 call centres, that was being operated by foreign nationals and reportedly engaged in defrauding the public, was allowed to thrive inside a private housing society. According to the FIR, senior NCCIA officials allegedly entered into a profitable arrangement to protect them, collecting nearly Rs15 million every month in return for their silence. Over several years, the illicit total reportedly surged past Rs250 million, with newly appointed officers continuing the same entrenched practices as their predecessors. This is a collapse of purpose - an institution supposedly tasked with defending the digital rights of citizens instead becoming complicit in violating them. Although the FIA's Anti-Corruption Circle has initiated raids and filed charges, the path forward cannot rely solely on punitive measures after the fact. Pakistan urgently needs a cyber-governance framework that embeds real oversight. The NCCIA cannot continue as a siloed agency operating without meaningful checks. A parliamentary committee, equipped with investigative authority, should regularly audit its operations, finances and case handling. Internal accountability cells must be strengthened, not in formality but in function, with protections for whistleblowers who expose wrongdoing. Moreover, the agency's operational systems must be digitised to reduce discretionary power. Data handling and internal processes should leave a clear digital trail.

The state needs to recognise that cybercrime is now a national security issue. If the agency is to regain even a fraction of that mandate, the response must be bold and uncompromising.