ISLAMABAD – Imran Khan-led federal government on Saturday proposed changes in the law to make defamation on social media a punishable offense.
Federal Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, in a tweet, said two important bills relating to the election commission’s code of conduct and defamation on social media have been sent to the federal cabinet for approval.
وفاقی کابینہ کو دو اہم قانون منظوری کیلئے بھیجےگئےہیں،پہلےقانون کےتحت پارلیمنٹیرینز کوالیکشن کمپین میں حصہ لینےکی اجازت دی گئ ہے جبکہ دوسرے قانون کے تحت سوشل میڈیا پرلوگوں کی عزت اچھالنے کو قابل تعزیرجرم قرار دے دیا گیا ہے،عدالتوں کوپابند کیا گیا ہے کہ فیصلہ چھ ماہ میں کیا جائے
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) February 19, 2022
One of the laws proposed by incumbent authorities if enforced, it will make social media defamation a punishable crime, he said.
Courts will be bound to decide the cases within six months, Chaudhry added saying damaging the dignity of another person on any media platform will no longer be tolerable.
As per the amendment, social media companies that do not comply with the rules risk being blocked online. Companies will be obliged within 24 hours to respond to a request to remove “unlawful” material, or six hours in emergency cases while officials proposed three months for them to register.
Federal Minister for Law and Justice Barrister Farogh Naseem also commented on the matter in a presser in Karachi today. He said the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) has been amended to curb fake news and hate speech content on electronic and social media platforms.
Naseem trashed imposing curbs on media while he added that the PTI government believes in the ‘expression of freedom’ and the move aimed to curb fake news. The subordinate court will be accountable to the high court judge over failure to complete the trial of electronic crimes within six months, he mentioned.
Minister also added that the accused punished under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act cannot get bail. The amended act will also target people uttering hate against the national institutions.
Pakistan decides to treat criticism of military, judiciary as cognisable offence
On the other hand, the PTI government has amended the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) code of conduct, and the ministers and the parliamentarians will be able to run election campaigns of their party candidates.
The proposal comes two weeks after the ECP had disqualified the brother of Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs Ali Amin Gandapur, from contesting local body elections for violating the Code of Conduct announced by the commission for the local body polls.
