ISLAMABAD: PML-N Senator Afnanullah Khan on Tuesday alleged that there had to be some involvement of officials in the theft of Pakistanis’ data, saying that it was available on the dark web.

The senator made the remarks during a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Interior, where he said: “All of Pakistani nationals’ data is on the dark web. And it is the latest data.

“And it is such good data that we might not have such well-processed data. For example, they have consolidated data from the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra), the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and banks into a dataset,” he said.

“And you can get anyone’s data for Rs500, and if you want that of the entire country, you will get it for Rs70-80 billion. Data worth Rs70-80bn is [available] on the dark web,” the senator said.

He pointed out that when the data of any individual was stolen, it could be used for any purpose, including obtaining passports and identity cards for others.

“Why is Pakistanis’ data stolen time and again?” he asked.

Addressing Immigration and Passports Director General Mustafa Jamal Kazi, he added: “Let me tell you one thing; without the [involvement of] people inside the organisation, data theft at such a large scale is not possible. It is impossible. The data of 240 million people cannot be stolen just like that.”

Later, speaking to Dawn, the PML-N senator asserted that this data could not have been leaked without the involvement of officials in the Nadra and Immigration and Passports Directorate General.

In the meeting, Committee Chairperson and PTI Senator Faisal Saleem Rahman had asked Kazi whether any investigation had been carried out in this regard.

Kazi responded that a probe had been conducted and officials had also been removed.

Senator Rahman also stressed the need for ensuring the protection of law enforcement bodies’ data. “Who will be responsible if their data is leaked?” he said.

Proposal to ban social media platforms

Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry also attended the meeting, where he raised the issue of the use of social media by terrorists.

“Previously, terrorists used guns. Now, they are using social media,” he said, adding that social media companies would not even share the Internet Protocol addresses of users operating accounts being used for terrorism.

Speaking on the matter, Senator Rahman suggested that the government should enter into a contract with social media platforms. He further advised that platforms that did not cooperate with the government should be banned.

PPP Senator Palwasha Khan endorsed these views, saying: “A ban should definitely be imposed.”

Senator Rahman further pointed out that China had its own social media platforms and said, “There is no need to employ the services of those [companies] that are not cooperating.”

Chaudhry responded to the suggestion, saying: “This is a big decision, you can take it. If we take it, it will be called an attack on the freedom of expression.”