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Business Recorder
19-07-2025
- Politics
- Business Recorder
Senate clears Criminal Laws (Amend) Bill: Push to end death penalty for specific crimes
ISLAMABAD: The Upper House of the Parliament, Friday, passed the Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2025, a legislative draft that seeks to abolish death penalty for anyone found guilty of the crimes like 'assault or criminal force to women, and stripping her of her clothes,' and 'harbouring hijacker.' The bill mainly replaces death penalty with life imprisonment in the cases involving aforementioned offences. Interior State Minister Talal Chaudhry presented the bill in the Senate session, following its passage by the relevant standing committee earlier, presided over by Deputy Chairman Senate Syedaal Khan. The senators including Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Parliamentary Leader in Senate Ali Zafar and Samina Mumtaz Zehri from Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) opposed the bill— that was still passed by the House. 'In my opinion, this is a very serious offence—that warrants death penalty,' Zafar said, adding that the law endorsing death penalty in above-mentioned cases was passed by the Senate and the National Assembly after thorough consideration. Zehri, who is also the Chairperson of Senate's Functional Committee on Human Rights, supported death penalty in cases involving serious assault on women, saying, more stringent laws be introduced and implemented in this regard. 'From where did this thought come to our minds that severity of a punishment can stop a crime?' the law minister responded. 'This myth is wrong,' the minister argued. 'There is no death penalty in the entire Europe. The crime rate is only two percent. Jails are empty there. They are converting their jails to museums—on the other hand, we have death penalty for 80, 90 or 100 crimes—but crime rate here touches the sky,' he added. 'Unfortunately, the Senate and the National Assembly did not pass this law. It came from a martial law administrator,' he said, referring to Zia-ul-Haq. According to the Statement of Objects and Reasons of the Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2025, in an effort to comply with the requirements of GSP+, and Pakistan's international commitments under ICCPR (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights), three meetings with all stakeholders were held—to review reduction of the death penalty in order to bring it in line with international law and Islamic jurisprudence. The Statement adds that the Ministry of Interior and Narcotics Control proposed the draft Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2025, proposing omission of death penalty from Pakistan Penal Code, 1860 with an alternative punishment of life imprisonment in the relevant sections. Meanwhile, the House also passed the Extradition (Amendment) Bill, 2025, Pakistan Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2025, and Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (Amendment) Bill, 2025. Also, the National Agri-trade and Food Safety Authority Ordinance 2025 was laid in the House. The Senate session was adjourned till Monday. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Express Tribune
29-01-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
PECA bill gets Senate's nod amid protest
ISLAMABAD: Journalists on Tuesday erupted in protest across the country after the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led ruling coalition managed to bulldoze the controversial Prevention of Electronic Crimes (PECA) Amendment Bill, 2025 also through the upper house. The National Assembly has already passed the bill which, if enacted, can effectively muzzle the media. On Tuesday, PML-N Senator Rana Tanveer Hussain presented the bill in a Senate sitting, chaired by Deputy Chairman Syedaal Khan amid a protest by opposition lawmakers. Addressing the house, Hussain said no law or amendment is immutable and can be changed. "The PECA bill is for social media platforms, not for electronic media or newspapers, aiming to regulate civil society in a manner that prevents the misuse of social media," he said. Opposition members, however, tore copies of the bill amid chaos in the house. Leader of the Opposition Senator Shibli Faraz said his party, the PTI, does not support the bill. He said no one supports spreading fake news but criticized the flawed procedure adopted to pass the bill. There is a lack of necessary institutions, judges, and lawyers to handle cases related to fake news, he said. Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Senator Kamran Murtaza complained that his amendments to the PECA bill were neither approved nor rejected by the relevant committee. He called the standing committee's report incomplete. The house later approved the bill amid a protest by opposition members. During passage of the bill, journalists also walked out of the Senate press gallery in protest, joined by PPP Senator Sherry Rehman, who listened to their grievances. The journalists later organized a protest march from Islamabad's National Press Club to D-Chowk. Lawyers and civil society representatives also actively participated in the protest. To prevent the journalists' rally from reaching parliament, a heavy contingent of police was deployed, and barbed wire barriers were erected. However, the journalists managed to cross the barriers and reached the gates of D-Chowk, where they staged a sit-in. Addressing the gathering, Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) President Afzal Butt termed the bill a 'black law'. He said the government passed the bill without consulting the media, the most significant stakeholder. "This law is an attempt to suppress the voice of the media. Our movement against this draconian law has begun and will continue until its repeal," he said. The joint action committee of media bodies staged a protest demonstration also in front of the Karachi Press Club in response to an appeal from the PFUJ against the PECA amendment bill. Representatives from various media organizations, civil society groups, trade unions, lawyers' groups and teachers joined and supported the protest. Prominent figures, including journalists, media owners, editors, and workers from organizations such as PFUJ, the Karachi Union of Journalists (KUJ), the Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA), the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE), and others addressed the protesters. "The government has to learn the lessons as it was earlier used against the same party, which had passed the law in a haste," said Mazhar Abbas, a senior member of PFUJ. Mazhar Abbas characterized the situation as a 'civilian martial law'. He urged the joint action committee to advocate for the repeal of PECA, stating that they would not compromise on their rights. Azhar Abbas called for unity among media organisations to demonstrate collective strength to the government. PBA representative Qazi Ather reaffirmed the commitment to safeguarding press freedom, stating that they would not allow their voices to be suppressed. The Karachi Bar Council also issued a statement condemning the bill, describing it as comprising regressive amendments that constitute an assault on fundamental freedoms. PECA, a law enacted in 2016 during the rule of the PML-N, was aimed at addressing cybercrime and regulating electronic communication in Pakistan. It was meant to combat online offences such as hacking, data theft, and cyberbullying. The law was continually amended by subsequent governments. However, this time around, the PML-N government has attempted to make some drastic changes in the law which seeks to criminalize fake news which may land a person in jail for up to three years while also making liable for a fine of up to Rs2 million. It stipulates penalties for sharing content expunged from the records of the National Assembly, Senate, and provincial assemblies on social media. The amended bill expands the definition of illegal content, including matters related to religion, national security, public order, and contempt of court. It also criminalizes activities such as inciting crime or terrorism, spreading defamatory reports against constitutional institutions, blackmailing, and defamation. Illegal content also includes pornography, copyright violations, and material that undermines peace and morality or promotes criminal activity. The bill broadens the definition of social media platforms to include tools, software, websites, applications, and communication channels used for social media access. One of the key provisions of the new amendments is the establishment of the Digital Rights Protection Authority (DRPA), which will have the authority to remove prohibited content and take action against individuals who share such material. The authority will also oversee the regulation of social media platforms and has been given the power to enforce compliance through directives and penalties. The bill also proposes the dissolution of the Federal Investigation Agency's (FIA) Cyber Crime Wing, with its responsibilities transferring to the newly established National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency.
Arab News
28-01-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
‘Draconian law,' says opposition party as Pakistan senate approves controversial cybercrime bill
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's upper house of parliament on Tuesday passed a bill to amend the country's cybercrime law amid a walkout by opposition leaders and journalists who fear the new legislation will be used to censor social media platforms. Pakistan adopted the much-criticized Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) in 2016, granting sweeping powers to regulators to block private information they deemed illegal. The law provided for up to seven years in prison for 'recruiting, funding and planning of terrorism' online. It also allowed 'authorized officers' to require anyone to unlock any computer, mobile phone or other device during an investigation. The government said at the time restrictions under the new law were needed to ensure security against growing threats such as terrorism and to crackdown on unauthorized access, electronic fraud and online harassment. However, journalists and rights activists complain that the law has been largely used to go after journalists, bloggers and other people critical of the government and state institutions like the military. The new amendment bill now proposes the establishment of the Social Media Protection and Regulatory Authority to perform a range of functions related to social media, including awareness, training, regulation, enlistment and blocking. SMPRA would be able to order the immediate blocking of unlawful content targeting judges, the armed forces, parliament or provincial assemblies or material which promotes and encourages terrorism and other forms of violence against the state or its institutions. The law also makes spreading disinformation a criminal offense punishable by three years in prison and a fine of two million rupees ($7,150). After being passed by both houses of parliament, the bill now needs the president's ascent to become law. 'I have heard more 'yes' than 'no', so the bill is approved,' Syedaal Khan, deputy chair of Pakistan's Senate, said amid protests from the opposition and journalists who walked out of the gallery. The main opposition party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, called the law 'draconian,' saying it would be used to suppress media freedom. 'Second battle will be a constitutional battle in the courts and for that the [party] leadership is consulting lawyers,' the PTI said in a statement shared with reporters. 'We will challenge this and we will keep resisting till this black law is taken back.' A copy of the bill seen by Arab News has set imprisonment of up to three years and a fine of Rs2 million or both for 'whoever intentionally disseminates, publicly exhibits, or transmits any information through any information system, that he knows or has reason to believe to be false or fake and likely to cause or create a sense of fear, panic or disorder or unrest in general public or society.' The bill was presented in the National Assembly on Thursday by Federal Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain from the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party of premier Shehbaz Sharif. 'The bill will not harm but protect working journalists,' Information Minister Ataullah Tarar told reporters after the passage of the bill by the lower house of parliament last week. 'This is the first time the government has defined what social media is. There is already a system in place for print and electronic media and complaints can be registered against them.' He said 'working journalists' should not feel threatened by the bill, which had to be passed because the Federal Investigation Agency, previously responsible for handling cybercrime, 'does not have the capacity to handle child pornography or AI deep fake cases.' Tarar said the government was also aiming to bring social media journalists, including those operating YouTube accounts, under the tax framework. The operative part of the new bill outlines that the Social Media Protection and Regulatory Authority would have the power to issue directions to a social media platform for the removal or blocking of online content if it was against the ideology of Pakistan, incited the public to violate the law or take the law in own hands with a view to coerce, intimidate or terrorize the public, individuals, groups, communities, government officials and institutions, incited the public to cause damage to governmental or private property or coerced or intimidated the public and thereby prevented them from carrying on their lawful trade and disrupted civic life. The authority will also crackdown on anyone inciting hatred and contempt on a religious, sectarian or ethnic basis as well as against obscene or pornographic content and deep fakes. Rights activists say the new bill is part of a widespread digital crackdown that includes a ban on X since February last year, restrictions on VPN use and the implementation of a national firewall. The government says the measures are not aimed at censorship.
