The freedom of expression is one of most important element in any civil society that gives the masses a fundamental right to criticize any government of administration for their bad chores.
Unfortunately in very society there are barriers to stop such a freedoms and sometimes the state laws also used against the masses and journalists for pressurize them for criticizing the officials or politicians?
Pakistan is also amongst those countries where we have a history of such practices, to stop freedom of expression and accused journalists for the so called violations of law-than journalists have no safety of life to work in a free environment.
The readers knows that many journalists being effected by that unsafe system in including, Sadaf Naeem: A reporter for Pakistani Channel 5 who was crushed to death by a truck while covering a political rally in October 2022
Naseer Ghumman: A bureau chief for a daily newspaper who was shot and seriously injured by four armed men in December 2022
Khalil Jibran: A journalist who was shot and killed by unidentified gunmen in June 2024. We have more examples for such a situations but the most important thing is that ha government has passed the Peca law (protection of electronic crimes amendment act 2025).
According to news reports 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 further expands the definition of “illegal online content,” including content that incites violence, promotes pornography, or undermines public order.
The government can now block websites, applications, or communication channels that violate these new criteria.
The bill also proposes severe penalties for those involved in spreading false information or fake news, with offenders facing up to three years in prison and fines of up to Rs20 million.
The amendments have stirred controversy among media professionals, many of whom argue that the bill infringes upon press freedoms and stifles independent journalism.
Journalists have raised concerns that the vague language of the bill could be used to censor critical reporting, particularly regarding government actions.
The Peca amendments also pave the way for a new social media protection tribunal to expedite cases involving online crimes, with the tribunal required to resolve cases within 90 days.
Furthermore, the bill 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.
Opposition leaders have voiced strong concerns over the amendments, accusing the government of using the law to suppress dissent and limit freedom of expression online.
The ruling government, however, maintains that the changes are necessary to safeguard the public from harmful and illegal content that could disrupt national security.
With the bill now passed in the National Assembly, the Peca amendments will likely face further scrutiny in the Senate.
The debate over the legislation is expected to continue as Pakistan grapples with balancing online freedoms and security concerns in an increasingly digital world.
On the other hand the federal union of journalists also strongly condemned the Peca law, the secretary general PJUJ Arshad Ansari told the media that journalists would challenge the tweaks in the court and announced staging protests as well as boycotting assembly sessions.
In such circumstances the government will have to revisit that controversial Peca law and should removes all the concerns raid form the journalists community. Infect in a political government such a law, which is against the freedom of expressions will badly effect the soft image of the government.
