Latest news with #PreventionofElectronicCrimesAmendmentAct
Express Tribune
14-02-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
PECA is a bland act, says Fazl
ISLAMABAD: Leaders of the opposition party fired a broadside against the recently-enacted Prevention of Electronic Crimes Amendment Act (Peca), terming it a law to gag the media and usurping the people's fundamental right of freedom of expression. Addressing a seminar on 'Challenges Facing the Media in Pakistan', organised by the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman termed PECA act a bland act. Fazl said that the government should not make a code of conduct for journalists, rather it should be prepared by the journalists themselves. He added that every dictator had violated the sanctity of the Constitution, democracy, and parliament. Speaking at the seminar, Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai said that fake people had been brought to parliament, who were only taking orders and not representing the people. He praised the efforts of Fazl in the passage of a balanced 26th Constitutional Amendment. He added that even if the current government withdrew the Peca Act, it won't be acceptable. He said that the movement against the government should not stop. The Peca Act, he said, was brought to eliminate fake news and asked what the remedy was when the government lied to the people. Majlis-e-Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) chief Senator Allama Raja Nasir Abbas said that one pillar of the legislature fell, when parliamentarians were picked up in the night. All the amendments that had been passed were not possible had the political parties were not hypocritical. "We will fight for the rights of the people and we will succeed. This parliament has lost its worth, the government has collapsed, and the last pillar, journalism, has also been attacked through PECA. They want this society to become deaf and dumb," he added.
Express Tribune
08-02-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
SHC seeks arguments on plea against PECA
KARACHI/ISLAMABAD: A division bench of the Sindh High Court (SHC) on Friday sought more arguments on the admissibility of a petition against the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Amendment Act (Peca), while another petition was filed in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against the legislation. The SHC bench, led by Chief Justice Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui, took up the petition against Peca amendments. Barrister Ali Tahir, the lawyer for the petitioner, informed the bench that they had challenged sections 2R and 26A of Peca. The lawyer said that the Section 26A criminalised the transmission and receipt of information by declaring it "false and fake". He added that sections G and H of the act used the words "false, fake and misrepresentation" in a very vague manner. He said that sections 2R and 26A were in violation of the articles 19 and 19A, and the fundamental rights given in the Constitution. He added that Articles 19 and 19A of the Constitution granted every citizen the right to freedom of expression within reasonable limits. The chief justice asked the lawyer what was the harm in removing illegal and objectionable contents from social media. Barrister Ali Tahir replied that under Peca, the authority would use "judicial powers" to determine which content was objectionable and should be removed. The chief justice further remarked that what was wrong if an institution enforced compliance with the laws of the country. Barrister Ali Tahir raised the issue of restrictions on some social media platforms. He cited the closure of X in Pakistan and said that journalists had been disappeared in the past. He said that after the Peca amendments their problems would multiply. The chief justice remarked that the petition before the court was not about the disappearance of journalists. He asked the lawyer to satisfy the court that this petition was admissible, and adjourned the hearing till Monday.
