The government of Pakistan led by Imran Khan has announced an ordinance to amend the PECA (Prevention of Electronic Crimes) Act, 2016 that could lead to users getting jailed for five years for posting fake news. The opposition is viewing this move as an attempt to shield the army of Pakistan and the judiciary from criticism of any kind.
On Sunday, the ordinance was swiftly adopted into law by President Arif Alvi, one day after it was approved by the cabinet of Pakistan. The Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 or Peca as it is called, was initially legislated by the PML-N government led by Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif in 2016. Back then, the party had used its numerical majority in the National Assembly to push the controversial bill amid heavy protests by the Opposition and Civil Society Organisations.
As per the reports, the Act has made it an offence to run a website or send information with a counterfeit source. All the websites that are Parody or Satire-based along with their social media accounts come under the ambit of this ordinance. It has provided authorisation to Federal authorities for unlocking any electronic device, be it mobile phones or computers for the investigation of a crime.
According to the critics, the current government of Pakistan has made the PECA even more draconian than before by widening its ambit to cover some of the state institutions including the military and judiciary. Those who will be charged under this ordinance cannot be granted bail for at least six months after getting arrested. The jail term for offenders has also been increased from three to five years for the defamation of any person or institution.
As per the reports by a Pakistan-based newspaper, the definition of a person in the ordinance has been expanded to include any company, association or body of person whether they have been incorporated or not, institution, organisation, authority or any other body that was established by the government under any law or otherwise. The ordinance also specifies that the courts will have to accelerate trials in 6 months and will also have to submit monthly progress reports of all the pending cases to the High Court stating reasons for the inability to conclude the matter. The complainant does not have to be the aggrieved person or institution, the complaint can be filed by any member of the public, making the new law open for misuse and abuse.
As per the new ordinance, various social media companies would now be required to set up several offices in the country within the next 3 months and also appoint one compliance and grievance officer for the addressing of complaints within a week. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has called this legislation undemocratic by saying that it will inevitably be used to brace down on objectors and critics of the government and various state institutions. This move has also been called a blatant attempt to restrain the freedom of expression which is already shrinking in the country. The party who had originally passed the bill has now called it an attempt to silence the media and the opposition.