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Despite strong opposition from the journalists’ community in Pakistan, the Senate Standing Committee on Interior sanctioned the amendment in the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) bill.
Senator – Faisal Saleem – chaired the senate body session, attended by other legislators, Shahadat Awan, Umar Farooq, Kamran Murtaza, Palwasha Khan, and Mir Dostain Hassan Domki.
The representatives of the journalists’ community in the country opposed the PECA bill during the session, saying that the bill had flaws that needed attention and that will restrict press freedom.
However, the senate chairperson asked the journalists to submit their grievances against the PECA Amendment Bill in written form.
Sharing his personal experience of being arrested under tenancy laws, Senator Irfan Siddiqui stressed that “No special law is needed to detain individuals in Pakistan.”
He further highlighted that some amendments were agreed upon during the discussion with the information minister, while the additional changes might needed in the National Assembly.
The JUI-F legislator, Kamran Murtaza, also opposed the PECA amendment bill, however, the Senate body approved it with majority.
It is worth noting here that the National Assembly passed the PECA Amendment Bill on January 23, 2025, a controversial piece of legislation aimed at regulating social media in Pakistan.
The bill, introduced by Federal Minister Rana Tanveer, proposes the creation of a new authority tasked with overseeing social media platforms and safeguarding users’ rights in the country.
This authority will be responsible for facilitating the operations of social media platforms, ensuring users’ rights are protected, and overseeing the registration of these platforms.
Once established, the authority will have the power to take disciplinary action against platforms that breach the law, instruct relevant institutions to remove illegal content and handle the registration and deregistration of social media platforms.
