PECA 2016 § 42 — International cooperation

Statutory text (English)

(1) The Federal Government may upon receipt of a request,
through the designated agency under this Act, extend such cooperation to any foreign government
1[including the government of Azad Jammu and Kashmir], 24 x 7 network, any foreign agency or any
international organization or agency for the purposes of investigations or proceedings concerning
offences related to information systems, electronic communication or data or for the collection of
evidence in electronic form relating to an offence or obtaining expeditious preservation and disclosure
of data by means of an information system or real- time collection of data associated with specified
communications or interception of data under this Act.

(2) The Federal Government may forward to a foreign government, 24x7 network, any foreign
agency or any international agency or organization any information obtained from its own
investigations if it considers that the disclosure of such information might assist the other government,
agency or organization etc., as the case be, in initiating or carrying out investigations or proceedings
concerning any offence under this Act.

(3) The Federal Government shall require the foreign government, 24 x 7 network, any foreign
agency or any international organization or agency to keep the information provided confidential and
use it strictly for the purposes it is provided.

(4) The Federal Government may, through the designated agency, send and answer requests
for mutual assistance the execution of such requests or their transmission to the authorities competent
for their execution.

(5) The Federal Government may refuse to accede to any request made by a foreign
government, 24 x 7 network, any foreign agency or any international organization or agency, if,—
(a) it is of the opinion that the request, if granted, would prejudice sovereignty,
security, public order or other essential public interest of Pakistan;
(b) the offence is regarded by the Federal Government as being of a political nature;
(c) there are substantial grounds for believing that the request for assistance has
been made for the purpose of prosecuting a person on account of that person's
race, sex, religion, nationality, ethnic origin or political opinions or that that
person's position may be prejudiced for any of those reasons;
(d) the request relates to an offence the prosecution of which in the requesting State
may be incompatible with the laws of Pakistan;
(e) the assistance requested requires the Federal Government to carry out
compulsory measures that may be inconsistent with the laws or practices of
Pakistan had the offence been the subject of investigation or prosecution under
its own jurisdiction; or
(f) the request concerns an offence which may prejudice an ongoing investigation
or trial or rights of its citizens guaranteed under the Constitution.
(g) Where the Federal Government decides to provide the requested cooperation,
the relevant requirements and safeguards provided under this Act and rules
framed thereunder shall be followed.

(7) The designated agency shall maintain a register of requests received from any foreign
government, 24 x 7 network, any foreign agency or any international organization or agency under this
Act and action taken thereon.
CHAPTER-V

Source and verification

Source citation: PECA 2016 (Act XL of 2016) s.42: Pakistan Code portal consolidated official PDF 'THE PREVENTION OF ELECTRONIC CRIMES ACT, 2016' (incl. Act XXXVII of 2023 & Act II of 2025 amendments), p. 34, 35, ingested 2026-09-15. Automated transcription from official source (pypdf extraction, audited artifact repair); human admin re-check required before production.

Verification status: verified · Text status: auto_transcribed_verified_source

The record cites an official source, but its transcription is automated or only partly checked; a human re-check is pending.

Official Urdu text status: pending_official_urdu_text. Where official Urdu wording has not been sourced, Qanoon does not substitute an unverified translation for the statutory text.

Historical text notes

1 historical record is linked to this section. Historical wording may be incomplete or pending verification; it is not presented as current law.

• Date not confirmed: Consolidated current text as published in the official Pakistan Code PDF (p. 34, 35) — reflects all amendments recorded in the official footnotes up to ingest date 2026-09-15. Automated transcription; per-amendment…

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