Islamabad: The Pakistan Software Houses Association for IT and ITES (P@SHA) has voiced serious concern over what it described as an increasing number of raids by the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) on legitimate software and IT-enabled services companies during the ongoing action against scam centres.
In a statement issued on Monday, November 09, 2026, P@SHA said the authorities must clearly distinguish between lawful call centres and IT companies on the one hand, and scam centres on the other. The association said it regards call centres as legitimate businesses and does not consider scam centres to be call centres.
P@SHA said the IT industry fully supports the law, cybercrime investigations and accountability. However, it stressed that enforcement must take place under a clear legal framework, with due process, transparency and proportionate action.
The association warned that measures which interrupt lawful business operations, block access to essential work equipment, or create uncertainty for companies could cause serious damage to Pakistan’s technology ecosystem.
It said scam centres that deceive citizens in Pakistan and abroad damage the country’s reputation and hurt genuine IT exporters first. P@SHA added that the industry 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, detained and questioned staff for several hours, and took laptops, servers and phones into custody even in cases where nothing unlawful was found.
According to P@SHA, such actions stop client delivery, endanger confidential data of foreign clients, and create fear among employees and investors.
The association noted that IT is the only sector of Pakistan’s economy growing consistently at around 20 per cent every year. IT exports reached a record USD 4.6 billion in FY2025-26, compared with USD 3.8 billion a year earlier. The government has set an export target of USD 10 billion by FY29 under Uraan Pakistan, along with a national goal of USD 15 billion. Freelance exports alone rose 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 said the IT industry is a complete ecosystem. Pakistan produces more than 70,000 computing graduates every year, while families invest their savings in their children’s education. Universities and the Higher Education Commission design programmes around industry requirements, it added.
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. Indiscriminate raids, it warned, reverse these collective efforts and push skilled youth to leave the country.
P@SHA said the NCCIA has itself stated that some fraud operators register their businesses as IT companies. The association argued that this is precisely why enforcement agencies must carefully differentiate between genuine companies and fraudulent operators, instead of treating every office with laptops and a night shift as suspicious.
The association demanded that every search should be backed by a court warrant shown to the company at the start, in line with PECA 2016 and the Code of Criminal Procedure. It also called for respectful treatment of staff, particularly women employees.
P@SHA further asked that before any action against a registered company, NCCIA should verify its status with PSEB and P@SHA through a designated focal person available round the clock.
It said that where evidence is required, forensic copies of data should be taken on site instead of seizing business equipment. Equipment not linked to an offence should be returned within seven days along with a proper seizure memo.
The association also called for strict protection of foreign client data held under contractual and data-protection obligations, saying such data must be handled under proper chain-of-custody rules.
P@SHA demanded that companies should not face a media trial and that their names should not be publicised as criminals before forensic findings and charges.
It proposed the establishment of 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 on SOPs for raids on registered IT firms.
The association also urged that harassment and maltreatment be avoided, saying raids often result in physical abuse of employees present on the premises. It said officials also disrupt CCTV systems and other digital footage, which 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 added. “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 unsure whether their operations, employees and essential work equipment may be subjected to disruptive action without transparent procedures.
The association has requested an urgent joint meeting with the Minister of IT and Telecom, the Interior Ministry and the Director General of NCCIA. It said it would share specific cases from member companies with the authorities.
