ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Software Houses Association for IT and IT-enabled Services (P@SHA) on Monday expressed serious concern over what it described as a growing number of raids by the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) on legitimate software and IT-enabled services companies under the ongoing crackdown against scam centres.
In a press release issued on November 9, 2026, P@SHA demanded that the NCCIA differentiate legitimate call centres and IT companies from scam centres. The association said it considers call centres legitimate businesses and does not regard scam centres as call centres.
P@SHA said the IT industry stands with the law and recognises the importance of law enforcement, cybercrime investigations and accountability. However, it maintained that such actions must be carried out within a well-defined legal framework, with due process, transparency and proportionality.
The association said enforcement measures that disrupt legitimate business operations, restrict access to essential work equipment or create uncertainty for business operations should be avoided, as they could cause significant damage to Pakistan’s technology ecosystem.
P@SHA said scam centres that cheat citizens in Pakistan and abroad damage the country’s reputation and hurt genuine IT exporters first. It added that the industry fully supports every lawful and evidence-based operation by law enforcement agencies against such operators.
However, the association said it had received complaints from member companies that teams entered offices without showing warrants, held and questioned staff for hours, and took laptops, servers and phones into custody even where nothing unlawful was found.
According to P@SHA, such actions halt client delivery, put confidential foreign client data at risk, and create fear among employees and investors.
The association stressed that IT is the only industry in Pakistan’s economy growing consistently at around 20 per cent every year. It said IT exports reached a record $4.6 billion in FY2025-26, up from $3.8 billion a year earlier. The government has set a target of $10 billion by FY29 under Uraan Pakistan and a national goal of $15 billion. Freelance exports alone grew by about 51 per cent in the first nine months of FY26.
“Every single dollar is earned on trust,” said Dr Shoab Ahmed Khan, Chairman 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 reminded the authorities that the IT industry is an entire ecosystem. It said Pakistan produces more than 70,000 computing graduates every year, while families invest their savings in their children’s education and universities and the Higher Education Commission build programmes around industry demand.
The association said the Ministry of IT and Telecom, Pakistan Software Export Board, Ignite, State Bank of Pakistan and Higher Education Commission are all working towards export targets. It warned that indiscriminate raids undo that collective effort and push skilled young people to leave the country.
P@SHA said the NCCIA had itself stated that some fraud operators register their businesses as IT companies. The association said this was exactly why enforcement must carefully differentiate between the two instead of treating every office with laptops and a night shift as a suspect.
The association called for warrants and standard operating procedures in every case. It said every search should be carried out under a court warrant shown to the company at the start, in line with PECA 2016 and the Code of Criminal Procedure, with respectful treatment of staff, especially women employees.
P@SHA also demanded that before acting against a registered company, the NCCIA should verify its status with PSEB and P@SHA through a designated focal person available round the clock.
It further said that where evidence is needed, forensic copies should be taken on site instead of seizing business equipment. Equipment not linked to an offence should be returned within seven days with a proper seizure memo.
The association called for protection of client confidentiality, saying data of foreign clients held under contract and data-protection obligations must be handled under strict chain-of-custody rules.
P@SHA also demanded that there should be no media trial and that companies and their names should not be publicised as criminals before forensic findings and charges.
The association proposed a standing quadrilateral committee comprising NCCIA, the Ministry of IT and Telecom, PSEB and P@SHA to review complaints, share intelligence on scam operators and agree SOPs for raids on registered IT firms.
It also called for an end to harassment or maltreatment during raids. P@SHA said raids often result in physical abuse of employees present at the premises, while officials also disrupt CCTV systems and other digital footage. It said 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 said. “We only ask that the law be enforced with precision; so that the honest majority of the IT industry is protected, not punished.”
P@SHA said the technology sector cannot grow in an environment where businesses remain uncertain about whether their operations, employees and essential work equipment may be subjected to disruptive actions without transparent procedures.
The association said it had requested an urgent joint meeting with the Minister of IT and Telecom, the Interior Ministry and the Director General of NCCIA. It added that it would share specific cases from member companies with the authorities.
