Peca verdict

In a major win for journalists, freedom of speech advocates and democrats in the country, the Islamabad Islamabad High Court has struck down the Prevention of Electronic Crimes (Amendment) Ordinance, 2022, stating that the amendments put through via the ordinance were unconstitutional. Not only that, the IHC has also ruled that the offence under section 20 of the original Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 to the extent of the expression ‘or harms the reputation’ is unconstitutional. Hearing the petition filed by journalists’ associations, including the Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA), All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS), Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE), Association of Electronic Media Editors and News Directors (AEMEND) etc, IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah has noted that it is crucial in democracy for people to have the right to freely express their opinion without fear of detention or severe punishment, and that such criminalization of defamation violates the constitution.

It may be recalled that Peca, an already heavily criticized law brought in by the PML-N during its tenure and seen widely as an affront to freedom of expression and speech, was further amended by the PTI government via the Peca Ordinance – effectively weaponizing it to dangerous levels. Much like 2016, when the PML-N government had decided to opt for such a draconian law, this ordinance too was protested by journalists, civil society and human rights organizations, journalist unions and bodies, media professionals, and political leaders. This is a big victory for all these organizations and individuals – highlighting that a united front against draconian laws eventually prevails – and is another example of justice being done in a case where the government had blatantly opted for an anti-people, anti-dissent law.

During the PTI regime, Pakistan has gone through a severely bad crisis as far as freedom of the press is concerned – to the extent that the Reporters Sans Frontiers’ 2021 list of ‘Press Freedom Predators’ had also included Prime Minister Imran Khan. With journalists being taken off air, social media accounts being monitored and abusive trolls unleashed on anyone who dared to disagree, the Peca Ordinance was one more dangerous addition to the government’s long list of crimes against free speech and journalism. It is encouraging that the opposition parties have hailed the IHC’s verdict. They will need to be reminded of this when they are in power, because a black law is a black law no matter who passes it. There is hope though that the citizens of Pakistan will have judicial recourse any time a government decides to be the arbiter of what people are allowed to see, hear and read over social media.