Islamabad: The Special Committee of the National Assembly on Gender Mainstreaming expressed grave concern over rising incidents of digital violence against women and the ineffective response by the National Cybercrime Investigation Agency (NCCIA). The 17th meeting of the Committee, chaired by Hon. Dr. Nafisa Shah, MNA, was held at the Parliament House, Islamabad, and included a historic first-ever parliamentary hearing on 'Digital Violence against Women in Pakistan: Safeguarding Rights in the Digital Age.'

Dr. Shah emphasized that digital violence represents an emerging and dangerous dimension of gender-based violence and called for urgent assessment of the scale of abuse, identification of legal and enforcement gaps, and improvement of victim support mechanisms. The Committee also raised concerns over controversial judicial interpretations that risk undermining constitutional protections for survivors of sexual violence, particularly under the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2006.

During the meeting, the DG NCCIA reported that in 2025 the agency received 22,500 complaints, but only 620 cases were registered and 26 resulted in convictions, citing severe shortages of trained staff, prosecutors, and financial resources. The Committee expressed deep dissatisfaction with NCCIA's performance, stressing the urgent need for institutional strengthening and accountability.

The PTA informed the Committee that over 1.5 million URLs had been blocked this year, including content related to defamation, impersonation, and immoral material, and that 5,000 unauthorized SIMs had been deactivated. Representatives from UNDP, UNFPA, and UN Women highlighted the need for a coordinated multi-agency response, while civil society and prominent women journalists underlined the heightened vulnerability of women online and the misuse of existing laws against civil society actors.

The Ministry of Human Rights presented policy perspectives and outlined the National Gender Policy Framework 2022 as a guiding tool to address digital violence against women. The meeting was attended by MNAs, federal officials, journalists, and representatives of national and international organizations.