ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly on Friday took up the issue of increasing cybercrimes in the country, which are badly affecting the masses. Members highlighted the problem of fake driving challans, as well as fraudulent messages from educational institutions, banks, mobile phone companies and other entities. It was also informed that in some cases people responded to such fake messages and later faced charges of blasphemy and anti-state activities, resulting in imprisonment. On the other hand, Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry claimed that necessary steps were being taken to introduce reforms in the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) in order to effectively tackle cybercrimes. PTI leader Sheryar Afridi informed the House that a large number of young people were facing cases and imprisonment after being declared guilty of committing blasphemy and anti-state activities. House told NCCIA received over 150,000 cybercrime complaints in a year “A number of people told me outside Adiala jail that they and their family members are facing cases after responding to some fake messages on the internet from people posing as representatives of educational institutions, banks and other organisations,” he added. PPP legislator Shazia Marri drew the attention of the assembly to fake traffic challans (fines) sent by fraudsters and hackers. She said a large number of people had been cheated through such messages, as they believed them to be genuine and paid fines to the perpetrators. In response, National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq said he had also received such messages claiming that he had committed traffic violations and was liable to pay fines. Meanwhile, Mr Chaudhry said the NCCIA had received over 150,000 complaints last year. He said the best officers had been appointed to the agency and that efforts were under way to enhance its capacity. He said over 81,000 of these complaints were related to financial crimes, and that 1,095 accused persons had been arrested. He added that cellular companies had been directed to enhance their security features for the issuance of SIMs. Responding to a question, Mr Chaud­hry said the air quality of Islamabad had improved compared to a year ago. He said measures such as vehicle emission certification were among the steps taken to improve the environment. To another question, the minister expressed the government’s commitment to purging Islamabad of all kinds of encroachments. Responding to a calling attention notice, he said Vision 2027 would be announced this month for the development of the federal capital territory. Privatisation Later, State Minister for Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani told the House that PIA had been privatised in the most transparent manner in accordance with the law and the Constitution. He clarified that only the core operations of the airline had been privatised, while PIA-owned hotels were not part of the transaction. Expressing confidence in the move, Bilal Kayani said the privatisation would improve service delivery and strengthen the airline’s financial position. Responding to a calling attention notice, Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan said interventions had been made to achieve the target of $6bn in exports. Bills introduced Meanwhile, several bills were laid before the House. These included the Export Development Fund Amendment Bill, 2026; the National Tariff Commis­sion Amendment Bill, 2026; the Export-Import Bank of Pakistan Amendment Bill, 2026; the Pakistan Telecommu­ni­cation Reorganisation Amendment Bill; the Life Insurance Nationalisation Ame­n­dment Bill; the Federal Board of Inter­mediate and Secondary Education Amen­dment Bill; the Islamabad Capital Territory Condominium (Ownership and Management) Bill; and the Alternative Dispute Resolution Amendment Bill, 2026. Published in Dawn, January 17th, 2026