ISLAMABAD: The recently passed Prevention of Electronic Crimes (Amendment) Act Ordinance (PECA) 2022 was challenged in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday with the petition stating “killing free speech in the country is tantamount to sabotaging democracy in the country”.
The ordinance was challenged by the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) in the Islamabad High Court (IHC). President Dr Arif Alvi had promulgated an ordinance on Sunday to amend the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 (Peca).
Under the ordinance, online defamation has been made a non-bailable, cognisable offence and the jail term for defamation has been increased from three years to five years. The ambit of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has also been broadened.
According to the petition, the respondents tried to “sneak amendments to existing laws at the eleventh hour” despite the fact that the upper house of Parliament was in session a day before the ordinance was promulgated.
“It appears that the respondents had already prepared the draft of the ordinance and were waiting for the ongoing session to expire in order to avoid the due process of legislation,” the petition reads.
The journalists’ union said that the ordinance was promulgated without passing the “necessary tests imposed under the Constitution of Pakistan for legislation through the mode and manner of ordinances”, adding that the promulgation was based on “malice”.
Commenting on the changes made to the law, the petition said that the word “natural” had been omitted from Section 20 in an “illegal and unlawful manner”, while by adding institutions, associations and corporate persons to the law, the respondents tried to “criminalise the civil wrong already defined and available under the law”.
“The weaponisation of the section against print, electronic and social media is against the constitutional rights of freedom of expression as provided under Article 19 of the Constitution,” it added.
“Killing free speech in the country is tantamount to sabotaging democracy in the country. It is ironic that the government is moving towards criminalisation of free speech at a time when the entire world is moving towards de-criminalising defamation,” the petition stated.
