P@SHA Tells NCCIA to Stop Confusing Legitimate IT Companies With Scam Centers

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Software Houses Association for IT & ITES (P@SHA) has expressed serious concern over a growing number of raids by the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) on legitimate software and IT-enabled services firms as part of the ongoing crackdown on scam centres.

Key points

• The administration has set an export target of $10 billion by FY2028-29 under Uraan Pakistan, alongside a broader national goal of $15 billion.
• The association has requested an urgent joint session with the Minister for IT and Telecom, the Interior Ministry, and the Director General of the NCCIA.
• P@SHA highlighted that the IT sector is one of the few industries in Pakistan's economy recording consistent annual expansion of around 20 percent.
• Scam centres that defraud citizens in Pakistan and abroad damage the country's reputation and directly hurt legitimate IT exporters.
• Preserve evidence without disrupting businesses: Where evidence is required, forensic copies should be created on-site instead of seizing entire systems.

P@SHA has pressed the NCCIA to distinguish legitimate call centres and IT businesses from scam centres, stressing that the two are fundamentally different and that legitimate call centres should not be treated as scam operations. Public Informed to Keep 4 Personal Details Private.

According to The association, pakistan's IT industry stands with the law. While it fully recognises the importance of law enforcement, cybercrime investigations, and accountability, it stressed that such actions must be carried out within a clearly defined legal framework, ensuring due process, transparency, and proportionality.

As they can cause significant damage to Pakistan's technology ecosystem, P@SHA remarked enforcement measures that disrupt legitimate business operations, restrict access to essential work equipment, or create uncertainty for businesses should be avoided.

Scam centres that defraud citizens in Pakistan and abroad damage the country's reputation and directly hurt legitimate IT exporters. The industry fully supports all lawful, evidence-based operations by law enforcement agencies against such networks.

Nevertheless, P@SHA stated it had received complaints from member firms concerning NCCIA teams entering offices without presenting warrants, holding and questioning employees for hours, and taking laptops, servers, and mobile phones into custody, even when no unlawful activity was discovered.

According to the association, such actions disrupt client services, put confidential foreign client data at risk, and create fear among employees and investors.

P@SHA highlighted that the IT sector is one of the few industries in Pakistan's economy recording consistent annual expansion of around 20 percent. IT exports reached a record $4.6 billion in FY2025-26, up from $3.8 billion a year earlier.

Meanwhile, the administration has set an export target of $10 billion by FY2028-29 under Uraan Pakistan, alongside a broader national goal of $15 billion. Freelance exports alone grew by around 51 percent during the first nine months of FY2025-26.

"Every single dollar is earned on trust, " remarked Dr. Shoab Ahmed Khan, Chairman of P@SHA.

"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 fraudsters lose a call centre, but Pakistan loses a market."

P@SHA additionally reminded the authorities that the IT industry supports a wider ecosystem. While families invest their savings in their children's education and universities and the Higher Education Commission develop programmes around industry demand, pakistan produces more than 70, 000 computing graduates every year.

In practice, the Ministry of IT and Telecom (MoITT), Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB), Ignite, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), and Higher Education Commission (HEC) are all working towards achieving the country's IT export targets.

In practice, the association cautioned that indiscriminate raids could undermine these efforts and encourage skilled young professionals to leave the country.

For context, the NCCIA has itself acknowledged that some fraud operators register their businesses as IT firms. P@SHA remarked this makes careful verification even more notable, rather than treating every office with computers and night-shift operations as suspicious. The association has outlined the after measures for the NCCIA.

Warrants and standard operating procedures: Every search should be conducted under a court-issued warrant presented to the firm at the beginning of the operation, in accordance with the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016 and the Code of Criminal Procedure. Employees, particularly women, should be treated respectfully.

Verification before raids: Before taking action against a registered firm, the NCCIA should verify its status with PSEB and P@SHA through designated focal persons available around the clock.

Preserve evidence without disrupting businesses: Where evidence is required, forensic copies should be created on-site instead of seizing entire systems. Equipment not linked to an offence should be returned within seven days, accompanied by a proper seizure memo.

Protect client confidentiality: Foreign client data held under contractual and data-protection obligations must be handled under strict chain-of-custody procedures.

Avoid media trials: Firms and their names should not be publicly portrayed as criminal enterprises before forensic findings are available and formal charges are filed.

Establish a joint coordination and grievance cell: P@SHA has proposed a permanent committee comprising the NCCIA, MoITT, PSEB, and P@SHA to review complaints, share intelligence regarding scam operators, and develop agreed procedures for raids on registered IT businesses.

Prevent harassment and mistreatment: The association has alleged that raids sometimes involve physical mistreatment of employees present at firm premises. It additionally stated authorities disrupt CCTV systems and other digital recording equipment. Such practices should be avoided.

"We will work hand in hand with NCCIA to root out the scam networks that give our country a bad name, " Dr. Shoab Ahmed Khan continued.

"We only ask that the law be enforced with precision, so that the honest majority of the IT industry is protected, not punished." Pakistan's IT Exports Reach All-Time High of $4.6 Billion.

P@SHA remarked the technology sector cannot grow in an environment where businesses remain uncertain concerning whether their operations, employees, and essential equipment could face disruptive action without transparent procedures.

In practice, the association has requested an urgent joint session with the Minister for IT and Telecom, the Interior Ministry, and the Director General of the NCCIA. It additionally stated it would share specific cases documented by member businesses with the relevant authorities. Stay Connected with ProPakistani.

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