The Investigator’s Handbook: Pakistan Edition

What the Pakistan edition covers

1. Pakistan 1. Domestic legal process: who can ask for what, and how

   This chapter sets out the Pakistani instruments an investigator uses to obtain data, bank records and electronic evidence from providers inside Pakistan: the preservation, traffic-data, search and content-data provisions of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 (PECA) as amended in 2025, the production and search provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, and the separate regimes for money and interception. It says plainly who cannot use those powers, how electronic records are proved in court, and how a foreign investigator fits in.

   Sections in this chapter

   • Which texts this chapter relies on, and what changed in 2025
   • Who can ask for what
   • Who may not use these powers, and what to do instead
   • Preservation, retention and freezing
   • Subscriber data, traffic data and content
   • Emergency requests
   • Takedown and blocking are different from production
   • User notice and non-disclosure
   • Interception: awareness only
   • How a foreign investigator relates to Pakistani law
   • Admissibility of electronic records
   • Worked example (generic)
   • Checklist

2. Pakistan 2. Internet and telecom providers: finding who to serve

   This chapter shows how to work out which Pakistani company holds the subscriber record behind an IP address, a mobile number or a domain, what the law says that company must keep, and where to find a contact. It then explains what our PTA-based directory can and cannot give you, how the large platforms handle requests from Pakistan, what the JazzCash and Easypaisa wallets publish, and where the published information stops.

   Sections in this chapter

   • Regulators and licensing
   • From an IP address to a provider
   • Domains
   • From a mobile number to a provider
   • What providers must keep
   • Who to serve, and what our directory gives you
   • Platforms and wallets that deal with Pakistan
   • Worked example (generic)
   • Checklist

3. Pakistan 3. Banks, wallets and national reporting: money and complaints

   This chapter explains how a cyber-fraud loss in Pakistan is reported to the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA), which legal tools can stop or hold money, what the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) requires of banks and microfinance banks when a customer reports fraud, and where a victim, or an account holder whose funds were restricted, can escalate. It also covers the JazzCash and Easypaisa mobile wallets, the Raast instant-payment system, virtual assets and the Financial Monitoring Unit.

   Sections in this chapter

   • Reporting: NCCIA, the portal and 1799
   • How money is stopped or held
   • What the customer’s bank must do, and by when
   • The complaint ladder for the account holder
   • Wallets, Raast and payment operators
   • Virtual assets
   • The Financial Monitoring Unit
   • Our pages for victims and officers
   • Worked example (generic)
   • Checklist

4. Pakistan 4. Cross-border: treaties, platform routes and what Pakistan’s authorities can send out

   This chapter sets out Pakistan’s treaty position, the central authority and the procedure for outgoing and incoming mutual legal assistance, the second route that PECA provides for cooperation, how Pakistani requests reach US platforms, and what a foreign agency should send to reach Pakistani providers or banks. It ends with a decision flow and a checklist.

   Sections in this chapter

   • Treaty and convention position
   • The central authority and the procedure
   • Police-to-police channels
   • How Pakistani requests reach US platforms
   • What a foreign agency should send to reach Pakistani providers or banks
   • Decision flow
   • Checklist

5. Pakistan 5. Templates, contacts and quick reference

   This chapter gives the national agencies you will deal with, three ready-to-adapt templates written for Pakistani law (a preservation notice under section 31 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, a Court application and order outline for records and bank-account material, and an emergency request), a one-page “who do I call first” table by case type, and a quick-reference card of sections and time limits. Chapters 1 to 4 explain the law behind each item.

   Sections in this chapter

   • National agencies
   • Template 1: Preservation notice to a domestic provider (PECA section 31)
   • Template 2: Court application for records, and the bank-account proviso
   • Template 3: Emergency request
   • Who do I call first?
   • Quick reference

Every edition also includes the global reference: how data requests work, the seven big platforms, the 116-service directory, country routes, cryptocurrency, evidence handling, templates and a glossary. See the full contents or try the free First 24 Hours checklist.

Related directories for Pakistan

• Pakistan ISP and telecom directory
• Bank fraud help in Pakistan
• How police in Pakistan request data from platforms
• Cybercrime agencies in Pakistan
• Law-enforcement request hub (LERS)

Questions