ISLAMABAD (Kashmir English): The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has officially discontinued all manually issued attendance notices, replacing them with digital notifications having QR codes.
Effective immediately, FIA would generate any summons or attendance notices through its secure e-office system. Manual, hand-signed, or printed-on-paper notices are no longer valid.
According to officials, each valid notice will include a unique, verifiable QR code that citizens can scan to confirm authenticity while notices lacking such a QR code must be treated as suspicious.
The FIA has urged the public to report any suspicious notices via email at complaints@fia.gov.pk or by contacting its helpline at 1991.
FIA spokesperson
According to an FIA spokesperson, the shift in policy aims to prevent circulation of forged documents and reinforce transparency and accountability in law-enforcement communications.
The move comes amid a surge in reports of fake summonses, FIRs, and bailable notices, often delivered through WhatsApp, email, or social media. They were largely being used by criminal elements to extort individuals.
Such scams typically targeted people with threats of arrest, cybercrime charges, or other legal consequences to force them to pay.
In many such cases, the bogus notices carried fake case numbers, forged signatures, or desktop-generated official stamps, and were used to terrorize innocent citizens into panic.
By formally ending manual summons and going fully digital, the agency hopes to plug-in loopholes that scammers exploit.
Officials are of the view that the new system will make it far harder for criminals to generate valid-looking notices, since each electronic notice can be cross-checked instantly.
For Pakistanis, the new system translates into clearer guidance and stronger protection against fraud.
