Islamabad — Pakistan People’s Party Senator Palwasha Khan voiced strong concerns in the Senate regarding the Islamabad administration’s new Secure Neighbourhood initiative, warning that the plan risks violating citizens’ fundamental rights and exposing their private data.
Speaking on the Senate floor, Senator Khan said she was “deeply disturbed” by the language used by senior Islamabad officials in a press conference, where Deputy Commissioner Islamabad Irfan Nawaz Memon—alongside Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry—discussed the capital’s upcoming household-data collection drive.
During that press conference, officials announced a mandatory door-to-door digital survey through the ICT Household Survey app, requiring residents to provide detailed personal information, including:
– household composition,
– tenant/owner status,
– CNIC details,
– and information on domestic staff.
They also said all vehicles entering or residing in Islamabad would soon require E-Tags or electronic identification.
One statement in particular drew sharp criticism: an official declared that if a citizen refused to provide information, the administration would “forcibly enter their home” to obtain it.
Senator Palwasha Khan told the Senate that no public servant had the authority to issue such threats to citizens, calling it “unconstitutional, coercive, and dangerous.” She questioned the rationale behind collecting such sensitive data, pointing out that Pakistani citizens’ personal information is already widely reported to be available for sale on the dark web, raising serious concerns about data protection and misuse.
She urged the government to explain the legal basis of the initiative, clarify the purpose of the data collection, and introduce strong safeguards to prevent abuse, warning that without transparency, the programme risks becoming a tool of surveillance rather than security.