Pakistan: Oppn leader Gillani slams Imran Khan govt for harassing media through draconian laws
Feb 22, 2022
Islamabad [Pakistan], February 22 : Leader of Opposition in Senate Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani on Monday said that the Imran Khan government is trying to harass media through draconian laws.
He said that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) will challenge the amendments to the social media defamation laws, calling them 'draconian' and an attempt to silence Opposition and media.
"They want to harass media, civil society and social media activists. The Parliament cannot be ignored in any way," Gillani said, reported The News International.
He was opposing the promulgation of the presidential ordinances amending the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, (PECA) 2016, and the Elections Act, 2017.
He criticized the Imran Khan government saying, "They want to restrict media through draconian laws. They want to intimidate their opponents by making such laws," adding that "Those who have made the law will be the first to face it."
Notably, under the ordinance, the definition of a "person" has been broadened to include any company, association, institution, organisation, authority, or any other. Furthermore, anyone found guilty of attacking a person's "identity" will now be sentenced to five years instead of three years.
The ordinance also states the informant or the complainant shall be "aggrieved person, his authorised representative, or his guardian, where such person is a minor or a member of the public in respect of a public figure or a holder of public office," reported the newspaper.
Cases falling under PECA will be supervised by a high court and the trial court will have to conclude the case within six months. "The court shall submit a monthly progress report of any pending trial to the concerned high court and shall give reasons for the inability of the court to expeditiously conclude the trial," says the ordinance.
