LAHORE: Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed said on Saturday the government needed to work seriously on cyber laws and enhance capacity of law-enforcement agencies to deal with the cyber crimes.

He was speaking at a seminar on cyber laws, organised by the Punjab Judicial Academy in a local hotel on Saturday.

The CJP said almost all the countries had been doing a lot of work on the cyber laws on scientific lines to control the crimes of the digital world but Pakistan had made its first law on cyber crimes in 2016, which was too late, and the move was not followed by effective measures.

Justice Ahmed said even the basic concepts of cyber crimes had not been clear in the country and law enforcement agencies took them like routine cases. He said the authorities should hold counseling sessions for the users of digital devices and mediums with the support of non-government organisations (NGOs) having expertise in this field.

The CJP urged the government to make existing laws more stringent to protect women in particular from cyber bullying and blackmail.

Lahore High Court Chief Justice Mamoon Rashid Sheikh said the cyber laws in the country were effective but the law enforcement agencies lacked capacity to implement them. He said successful implementation of the cyber laws had become vital in the era of digit world. He pointed out that information technology and digital business had changed the lives of the people altogether. However, he regretted that people in our society resorted to negative aspects of the technology more than its positive aspects.

Justice Sheikh said the authorities should encourage the victims of cyber crimes to speak up against the ills and ensure provision of justice to them.

Other speakers included Justice Ali Baqar Najafi, digital rights advocate Usama Khilji, UN representatives Kenizeh Khan and Ali Hassan, Executive Director Digital Rights Foundation Nighat Dad, FIA Cyber Crime Wing Director Waqar Ahmed Chauhan, and PFSA Director General Dr Irfan Ashiq.

Published in Dawn, February 16th, 2020