United against PECA

A larger group and effort appears to be building against the draconian Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) amendment passed by the PTI government as an ordinance, adding to an already-problematic law clauses which make it a criminal act to slander any organisation, any institution set up by government and also pushes further the punishment for anyone found guilty of such a crime from three to five years imprisonment. The amendments also make it mandatory for courts to settle cases within six months. The law has been condemned by Amnesty International which calls it a deliberate attempt to clamp down on free expression, and also Human Rights Watch, which has called for the government to repeal the law as soon as possible, given the damage it causes to this basic right of people, including journalists. This comes at the same time as the PML-N’s Shahbaz Sharif calling the PECA amendment a deliberate attempt to stifle dissenting voices. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has meanwhile met JAC, the Joint Action Committee set up by media bodies, and said he would support all of their demands.

The government’s refusal to budge on such a controversial media law is not serving anyone’s interests. The Balochistan High Court has also admitted a petition that the Balochistan Union of Journalists (BUJ) and Balochistan Bar Council have filed. The Islamabad and Lahore high courts are already hearing petitions challenging the new amendments. The Islamabad High Court has aptly observed that Prime Minister Imran Khan appeared to have been incorrectly briefed about the law as per the speech he delivered to the nation on Monday evening. While the prime minister seems to be convinced that such laws are essential to protect people in the country, the contrary is actually true – given that the law can crush any dissenting voice in the country. Perhaps the PM could, as per the court’s advice, take a good look at this law before defending it so vociferously.

While parliament’s main job is law-making, the PTI-led government has all but abandoned any pretence of allowing legislative bodies to debate and discuss such controversial laws. It has instead been solely relying on presidential ordinances and joint sessions of parliament to bulldoze laws that violate fundamental rights. We have said time and again that a democratic society thrives if all its norms and traditions are respected, and democratic institutions are allowed to function in an effective manner. Imposing ordinances to curb media freedom cannot be acceptable behaviour in a democratic society. Despite the PM’s unapologetic defence of the amendments and PTI ministers’ regular harangues in support of PECA, it is clear that the intentions behind it are malicious. All this coincides with more and more attacks by members of government on journalists. This includes the PM who even on Monday night indirectly referred to two journalists and then directly named Jang Group, singling them out for critique and insinuating that the media in Pakistan deals in ‘fake news’. There can hardly be two opinions that the PECA ordinance is illegal, unconstitutional and against the freedom of expression and of the press – a black law through which the government wants to gag journalists and society at large. The government must remember that states where citizens are in constant fear of speaking their minds are called fascist, and a society where journalists continue to be silenced with impunity is a society that is afraid of asking critical questions.