FIA arrests woman under new cyber crime law

SIALKOT: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Saturday arrested a Pakistani woman for blackmailing activities on social media, which makes her the first female to be taken into custody under the recently-passed cyber-crime law.

The woman – Sadia Mirza – has been accused of blackmailing Ahsan Rana, a resident of London. Hassan Rana, the latter’s brother, filed the complaint and alleged that Mirza had sent messages to Rana over social networking website Facebook, demanding money.

As per the FIR, Mirza has been charged with “sending threatening, abusive, and lewd messages.”

The investigation and arrest were undertaken by a team headed by Inspector Humaira Kanwal, and a case has subsequently been registered according to the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 – clauses 20 (1) and 24(b)(c).

Mirza has been shifted to the women section of the local police station on remand.

This development comes as part of measures carried out by the federal government in an effort to control social media activity in Pakistan.