PESHAWAR: The PFUJ [Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists] has challenged the “draconian” amendment to Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) through a Presidential ordinance in Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday.
Rizwan Qazi on behalf of PFUJ filed a petition in the IHC through his lawyer Adil Aziz Qazi stating that the government had amended the PECA law through an ordinance when a day earlier, the Upper House was in session. He said that since the government had already drafted the amendment thus, it should have been presented in the senate for approval instead of issuing an ordinance.
Read more: PPP leader vows to challenge PECA ordinance
The petition said that the constitution of Pakistan calls for the promotion of democratic values and freedom of expression but the current government is suppressing media and freedom of expression through laws. “The Amendment Ordinance is intended to discourage news and criticism,” the petition said.
The petition states that there was no state of emergency for issuance of the PECA Amendment Ordinance. A meeting of the National Assembly could have been convened to amend the Act. The petition further states that killing freedom of expression is tantamount to sabotaging democracy.
This amendment has also been challenged in the Lahore High Court by Chaudhry Saeed Zafar Advocate. In his petition, Zafar has that the PECA Amendment Ordinance has been brought to suppress the voice of journalists. The petition states that the issuance of Presidential Ordinance in the presence of Parliament is “unconstitutional” and “illegal”.
Meanwhile, the leadership of the Lahore High Court Bar opposed the PECA Amendment Ordinance 2022. The High Court Bar supported the local lawyer’s move to challenge the Ordinance, saying that the ordinance was issued to stifle the voice of journalists and stop criticism of the rulers.
Yesterday, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Central Leader and Leader of Opposition in Senate Yusuf Raza Gillani announced to challenge the ordinance in the Supreme Court. Gillani said that the PPP rejects the law, adding that the Senate had the meeting on 17 February but the government has issued the ordinance on 18 February. The PPP leader alleged the government wants to suppress political rivals and media by issuing such a “draconian” ordinance.