Islamabad:
Journalists broke out on Tuesday in protest across the country after the Coalition Manager led by the Muslim League of Pakistan (PML-N) succeeded in Bulldozer the controversial prevention of electronic crimes (PECA), the amendment bill, 2025, also through the upper room.
The National Assembly has already adopted the bill which, if promulgated, can actually muzzle the media.
On Tuesday, the Senator of the PML-N Rana Tanveer Hussain presented the bill in a session of the Senate, chaired by the Syedaal Vice-President Khan in the midst of a demonstration of the opposition legislators.
Addressing the house, Hussain declared that no law or amendment is immutable and can be modified. “Peca’s bill is intended for social media platforms, and not electronic media or newspapers, aimed at regulating civil society in a way that prevents the abusive use of social media,” he declared.
The members of the opposition, however, have torn copies of the bill in the middle of chaos in the House.
The head of the opposition senator Shibli Faraz said that his party, the PTI, does not support the bill. He said no one supports the dissemination of false news, but criticized the erroneous procedure adopted to adopt the bill. There is a lack of institutions, judges and lawyers necessary to treat cases related to false news, he said.
The senator from Jamiat Ulema-E-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Kamran Murtaza complained that his amendments to the Peca bill were neither approved nor rejected by the committee concerned. He described the report of the incomplete permanent committee.
The Chamber then approved the bill in the midst of a demonstration of the members of the opposition.
During the adoption of the bill, journalists also left the Senate’s press gallery in protest, joined by Senator PPP Sherry Rehman, who listened to their grievances.
The journalists then organized a protest march of the National Press Club of Islamabad in D-Chowk. Lawyers and representatives of civil society have also actively participated in the demonstration.
To prevent the gathering of journalists from reaching Parliament, a police heaviness was deployed and barbed wire were erected. However, journalists managed to cross the barriers and reached the doors of D-Chowk, where they organized a sit-in.
Addressing the rally, the president of Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), AFZAL Butt, described the bill as “black law”. He said the government had adopted the bill without consulting the media, the most important partial.
“This law is an attempt to suppress the voice of the media. Our movement against this draconian law began and will continue until its repeal,” he said.
The joint action committee of the media bodies organized a protest demonstration also before the Karachi Press Club in response to a call from the PFUJ against the bill on the modification of the PECA.
Representatives of various media organizations, civil society groups, unions, lawyers and teachers joined and supported the demonstration.
Eminent personalities, including journalists, media owners, publishers and workers from organizations such as PFUJ, Karachi Union of Journalists (KUJ), Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA), the Pakistani newspaper council ( CPNE), and other people approached the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Publishers (CPNE), and other demonstrators.
“The government must learn the lessons because it was used previously against the same party, which had adopted the law in a hurry,” said Mazhar Abbas, principal member of PFUJ.
Mazhar Abbas described the situation as “civil martial law”. He urged the joint action committee to plead for the repeal of the PECA, declaring that they would not compromise on their rights.
Azhar Abbas called for unity among media organizations in order to demonstrate collective strength to the government. The representative of PBA Qazi Ather reaffirmed the commitment to safeguarding press freedom, declaring that they would not allow their voice to be deleted.
The Karachi Bar Council also published a declaration condemning the bill, describing it as including regressive amendments which constitute an assault against fundamental freedoms.
PECA, a law promulgated in 2016 during the reign of PML-N, aimed to approach cybercrime and regulate electronic communication in Pakistan. It was intended to combat online offenses such as hacking, data theft and cyberbullying. The law has been continuously modified by subsequent governments.
However, this time, the PML-N government has tried to make drastic changes in the law that seeks to criminalize the false news that can win a person in prison for up to three years while making a fine of up to ‘to rs2 million.
It stipulates the sanctions to share the extended content of the files of the National Assembly, the Senate and the provincial assemblies on social networks. The modified bill is expanding the definition of illegal content, including questions related to religion, national security, public order and tribunal.
He also criminalizes activities such as incitement to crime or terrorism, distributing defamatory relationships against constitutional institutions, blackmail and defamation. The illegal content also includes pornography, copyright violations and material that undermines peace and morality or promotes criminal activities.
The bill expands the definition of social media platforms to include tools, software, websites, applications and communication channels used for social media.
One of the main provisions of the new amendments is the creation of Digital Rights Protection Authority (DRPA), which will have the power to delete the prohibited content and take measures against people who share such material.
The authority will also oversee the regulation of social media platforms and has had the power to enforce directives and penalties.
The bill also proposes the dissolution of the Cyber-Crime wing of the Federal Agency (FIA), with its responsibilities transferred to the new National Agency for Cybercrime Inquiry.