During the hearing of a request on the law on the prevention of electronic crimes (amendment) (PECA), 2025, before the High Court of Islamabad (CIHC), a lawyer warned that if the law is applied, Journalists and the media will only report unique on the weather.
The IHC heard on Tuesday a petition contesting the law, which, according to journalists, violates constitutional rights and restricts press freedom.
During the procedure, the lawyer Imran Shafic and the president of the Association of the Barreau of the High Court of Islamabad (IHCBA), Riyasat Ali Azad, underlined serious legal inconsistencies in the law. Shafic argued that the PECA had been in a hurry, with legal drafting errors, including duplicate and contradictory sections.
Azad argued that the law violated articles 19 and 19a of the Constitution, which guarantee freedom of expression and access to information.
“If the PECA is applied, journalists will have nothing to point out, except the weather,” he said.
Questions from the Fake News Regulation court
President of the hearing, judge Inaam Amin Minhas asked if the end of false news should be a priority. “The false news is indeed a problem,” he noted.
The president of the PFUJ, Afzal But, replied that if journalists oppose disinformation, media regulations should not infringe fundamental rights.
“We support responsible journalism, but the censorship disguised as regulation is unacceptable,” he said.
The petitioners urged the court to suspend the law, which prompted the IHC to give an opinion to the Attorney General.
The court said that a new hearing date would be set by the registrar office.
Pfuj disputes the law of cybercrime
Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) filed a petition last week, qualifying Peca to attack press freedom.
He argued that changes are expanding government control over speech and criminalizing false news without regular procedure.
The petition also said that PECA violates human rights and international digital freedoms, urging the Court to attack it.
What does Peca do?
Peca’s modified law reduces the maximum prison sentence for having distributed false information at three years and imposes fines of up to 2 million rupees.
It also introduces new regulatory organizations, including the Social Media Protection and Regulatory Authority (SMPRA), the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) and the social media protection courts.
The law allows individuals to request the deletion of the “false” contained within 24 hours and obliges social media platforms to register with the authorities. Affairs filed under PECA must be resolved within 90 days, calls with the Supreme Court within 60 days.
The changes were quickly adopted by the government, arousing criticism from the opposition parties, journalists and media guard dogs concerning a lack of consultation and potential threats to put pressure on freedom.