ISLAMABAD: Amid stiff resistance from journalists and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUIF), the Senate Standing Committee on Interior gave approval to “The Prevention of Electronic Crimes (Amendment) Act, 2025” bill.
The committee meeting held at the Parliament House with Senator Faisal Saleem Rahman in the chair and discussed the controversial piece of legislation, which was passed by the National Assembly, and introduced by Law Minister Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar during the Senate sitting on January 24, 2025.
During the committee meeting, journalist organisations and the JUIF opposed the Act. The committee chairman objected to journalist bodies not submitting their recommendations in writing and said they should have placed their recommendations before the committee.
JUIF Senator Kamran Murtaza, who was special invitee to the meeting, opposed the bill and said why it was being passed in such a haste. There were many weaknesses in the bill, fake news had not been defined; how come it would be decided what the fake news is, he said.
The senator said the law could not be read in such a short time, how come the consultation process was possible. “The one who lays the foundation for such controversial laws falls under it,” he warned.
Senator Irfan Siddiqui said that in this country, there was no need for a law to handcuff someone as the Tenancy Act was sufficient to handcuff someone. The committee chairman said he himself was affected by fake news; if he files cases against fake news every day, he would only continue to pay lawyers.
Senator Irfan Siddiqui said it would have been better had journalists been consulted before the passage of bill. However, he added, “we agree with the spirit of the bill, it is necessary to tackle the fake news on social media”.
Munizae Jahangir, vice chairman of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, said the bill contained serious violations of human rights, and consultation should be held before its approval. However, committee chairman said “there is no time for consultations, as the bill has to be passed today”.
Senator Kamran Murtaza said if the bill is passed, it would be a serious violation of basic human rights, as the bill imposes serious restrictions on the media. “After the bill is passed, media freedom will end,” he added.
The interior secretary requested the committee to approve the bill, passed by the National Assembly in the same form. “The government has also brought some amendments so that this law can be implemented better,” he added.
Senator Faisal Saleem Rahman expressed committee’s readiness to provide constructive suggestions to the government to facilitate improvement.
The committee members unanimously agreed on the necessity of a robust law to prevent electronic crimes and ensure strict compliance. They highlighted that existing laws addressing issues such as pornography, child protection, and hate speech lack clear definitions.
The members agreed that the bill was of utmost importance, as trolling and abuse were widespread issues that must be curtailed. The Anchors Association raised objections to the bill in the Senate committee, saying “we were not given time to come up with suggestions on the bill”.
Journalist organisations and Joint Action Committee said there were many flaws in the bill. “The bill will result in deterioration rather than improvement,” they said adding that the definition of fake news in the bill was very vague.
The journalist organisations took the position that “we ourselves are victims of fake news; we support the law for fake news, but in its current form, we do not accept the bill”.
The meeting was attended by Senators Palwasha Muhammad Zai Khan, Shahadat Awan, Irfanul Haq Siddiqui, Umar Farooq, Mir Dostain Khan Domki, Kamran Murtaza (Special Invitee), and Naseema Ehsan, along with the interior secretary and senior officials from the ministries of interior and law.