The Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 criminalises most forms of online harassment, and the FIA's Cybercrime Wing is the agency that investigates. The law is adequate; the difficulty is almost always evidence that was destroyed in the first hour by a victim understandably trying to make the abuse disappear.
The provisions that apply
- Section 20 - offences against dignity of a natural person. Intentionally and publicly exhibiting, displaying or transmitting information that harms the reputation of a person, or gives rise to hatred, contempt or ridicule.
- Section 21 - offences against modesty of a natural person and minor. Superimposing a photograph over sexually explicit material, distributing intimate images without consent, or cultivating or enticing a person for that purpose. This is the provision that covers non-consensual intimate imagery and morphed photographs, and it carries enhanced punishment where a minor is involved.
- Section 24 - cyberstalking. Repeatedly communicating, following, monitoring or contacting a person in a way that causes fear of violence, or interferes with their mental peace, or takes photographs and displays them in a way that harms them.
- Section 22 - child pornography.
- Section 16 - unauthorised use of identity information, which covers impersonation and fake profiles.
- Section 13 - electronic forgery and section 14 - electronic fraud, where documents or accounts are involved.
Sections 20 and 21 also empower the Authority to order the removal or blocking of the offending content, which is often the relief that matters most.
Before you do anything else: preserve the evidence
This is the part that decides whether a case goes anywhere.
- Screenshot everything - the messages, the profile page, the URL bar, the timestamps. Capture the profile URL and the numeric profile ID, not just the display name, because display names change.
- Do not block yet. Blocking removes your access to the conversation. Mute instead, if the platform allows it.
- Do not delete the messages, the chat or the account.
- Record call logs where the harassment includes calls, and note the numbers.
- Where possible, use the platform's data download facility to export the conversation in full.
- Keep the original device available; the FIA may need to examine it or take a forensic image.
Filing the complaint
Complaints go to the FIA Cybercrime Wing. There are three routes: the online complaint portal, the national helpline, and in person at a Cybercrime Reporting Centre - these exist in the major cities and are the most effective route for a serious case, because you can hand over the evidence and get an acknowledgment.
Bring: your CNIC, a written application setting out the facts in date order, printed screenshots, and the electronic copies on a USB drive.
Ask for the complaint number and keep it. Follow up in writing.
What happens next
An enquiry is opened first. The FIA writes to the platform for subscriber information, obtains call data records where relevant, and may summon the suspect. If the enquiry discloses an offence, an FIR is registered and the case goes to a designated court.
Realistically: cases where the offender is identifiable - a known person, a local number, an account traceable to a Pakistani subscriber - move. Cases involving anonymous accounts operated from abroad are much harder, and the honest answer is that content removal may be the achievable outcome rather than prosecution.
Getting the content removed
Run this in parallel; do not wait for the criminal case.
- Report to the platform under its own policy on non-consensual imagery and harassment. Platforms act faster on their own reporting flows than on legal correspondence.
- Ask the FIA to seek blocking under PECA.
- Complain to the PTA, which can direct removal or blocking of unlawful online content.
- Where intimate images are involved, the StopNCII hashing service can prevent re-uploads across participating platforms without you having to send the image to anyone.
The other remedies that run alongside
- Defamation - a civil suit for damages under the Defamation Ordinance, 2002, which does not depend on the criminal case succeeding.
- Harassment at the workplace - where the harasser is a colleague, the Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act, 2010 route through the inquiry committee or the Ombudsman is faster than PECA and has statutory timelines.
- Protection order under the applicable provincial domestic violence law, where the harasser is a family member or former partner.
Support
The Digital Rights Foundation operates a confidential cyber harassment helpline that assists with evidence preservation, platform reporting and FIA complaints, and several provincial commissions on the status of women provide legal aid. Using them costs nothing and they know the process.
This article describes the general legal position on online harassment in Pakistan. It is not advice on any specific case. Preserve evidence first, then consult the FIA, a helpline, or an advocate.