Opposition, journalists walk out of Senate against amended Peca bill

ISLAMABAD: The controversial Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca) and Digital Nation Pakistan Bill landed in the Senate on Friday amid a noisy protest by the opposition and walkout by journalists.

The Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-Organization) (Amendment) Bill and the National Commission for Minorities Bill were also introduced in the House.

Deputy Chairman Syedaal Khan presided over the bumpy short sitting.

The bills were referred to the standing committees following suspension of the question hour on a motion moved by the PPP parliamentary leader in the House Sherry Rehman.

The bills were referred to the House committees with a direction to furnish a report with the House within three days.

Opposition Leader Shibli Faraz appeared in no mood to accept the plea and rejected the ground for suspension of question hour as frivolous.

He accused the PPP of doing the ‘politics of hypocrisy’ and criticised it for allegedly patronizing the controversial pieces of legislation.

He further charged that the PPP had supported all controversial legislations in the recent past be it 26th Amendment or the yet-to-be-passed PECA amendment bill.

The PTI lawmakers staged a noisy protest, carrying portraits of Imran Khan. Towards the end of proceedings, they went close to the chairman’s podium and chanted slogans like ‘black laws unacceptable, who fired bullets, black Peca amendments unacceptable and free Imran Khan’.

All the bills were moved in the House by Federal Minister for Law, Justice and Human Rights Azam Nazeer Tarar.

Tarar criticised the opposition for even opposing the bill for minorities commission, asking the protesting lawmakers to express their views on the bills in the relevant House standing committees.

He asked the opposition to desist from agitation and public meeting inside the House and give their input on the proposed legislation.

He alleged that the PTI’s sole objective was to secure the release of its incarcerated leader.

“If you commit a crime, then you will have to go behind the bars,” he remarked.

Moments after referring the bills to the standing committees, the deputy chairman adjourned the House to meet again on Monday afternoon.

The chair did not take up two calling attention notices listed on the agenda.

Journalists after staged a walkout from the press gallery and staged a sit-in close to Gate No. 1 of the Parliament House.

The opposition lawmakers also joined the sit-in.

Speaking on the occasion, Senator Shibli Faraz termed The Prevention of Electronic Crimes (PECA) Act a ‘black law against the freedom of expression’.

He warned that the amendments were meant to push the media representatives into dark, adding that efforts were being made to suppress the people’s voice.

He emphasised that democracy was meaningless without free media and insisted that nowhere in the world a sword hung over the media like this.

Shibli said the Peca amendment bill was meant to contain the PTI, as they knew that the youth used the social media and an overwhelming majority of them supported the PTI.

He also recalled that the opposition had predicted at the time of passage of 26th Amendment that the government would move to stifle the freedom of expression.

“They are going to suppress the independence of journalism while the country has been made a police state. This government has become a national security threat,” he said.

Meanwhile, in a written reply, the Ministry of Commerce said Pakistan’s exports to Bangladesh had increased by 17 percent, while exports to China had decreased by 13 percent.

Though the question hour was not conducted, according to the related documents, the Ministry of Commerce said that Pakistan’s exports to China were $1.357 billion against the previous $1.557 billion. According to the ministry, there was a significant decrease in sectors such as cotton yarn, oil seeds, petroleum, oil and vegetable juices.

The House was informed that there was a decrease in cotton exports, while there was a 100 percent decrease in the export of animal skins such as horses. However, the ministry said exports to the United States had increased by 12 percent.