Karachi Press Club announces movement for annulment of Peca amendment

In a move against the recently passed PECA Amendment Act 2025, journalist bodies, legal experts and human rights organisations have united to launch a joint struggle for its immediate annulment.

A convention will be held on March 1, 2025, at the Karachi Press Club (KPC) to voice collective opposition to what is being described as a "draconian law" by its critics.

The decision was made during a consultative meeting convened at the KPC and co-chaired by KPC President Fazil Jamili and Secretary Muhammad Sohail Afzal Khan. The meeting brought together representatives from various sectors, including lawyer Barrister Salahuddin Ahmed, Karachi Bar Association General Secretary Abdul Rahman Korai, All Pakistan Newspaper Society’s Shahab Zuberi, Anwar Sajdi of the Council of Pakistan Newspapers Editors, Pakistan Union of Journalists (Dastoor) Secretary General Alauddin Hamdam Khanzada, and Karachi Union of Journalists (Dastoor) President Hamid Rehman, among others.

In his opening remarks, the KPC secretary shed light on the diminishing space for democratic debate and the dangers posed by the PECA Amendment Act 2025. He stressed that journalists across the nation had unanimously rejected the law from the outset and would continue to fight for its complete withdrawal. “We will take every step to challenge this law. We will protest on the streets, seek legal recourse, and leave no stone unturned in our efforts to have it repealed,” he stated.

KPC President Fazil Jamili added that the KPC had brought together various stakeholders — journalist bodies, legal fraternity, human rights defenders and civil society members — to coordinate a united front against the Act. “The government had promised to engage with us before finalising the draft. Unfortunately, those promises were never kept, and the bill was rushed through. We are now left with no choice but to launch a joint struggle to defend press freedom and the rights of journalists,” he said.

The participants at the meeting expressed their strong opposition to the PECA Amendment Act 2025, condemning it as a ‘black law’ that should be annulled immediately. The group pointed out that the legislation granted undue protection to illegal and immoral actions, paving the way for targeted harassment of journalists, doctors, lawyers, students and intellectuals who have dared to express dissent.

A key decision of the meeting was to organise a convention on March 1, 2025, at the press club to bring together all affected sectors of society, and form a detailed strategy for resistance against the PECA Amendment Act 2025. The gathering would also serve as a platform to galvanise public opinion and mobilise civil society in support of the campaign for the law's repeal.