Defamation law

EDITORIAL: Of course the Punjab government knew just which conventions and rules it was trampling upon as it bulldozed the controversial Defamation Bill 2024 through the house.

This shows, quite clearly, that it had no qualms about cementing its reputation as an opportunistic party when it comes to taking positions on the more sensitive points of the constitution, like the right to freedom of speech and so on.

But that’s most likely because it knows, like everybody else knows, that there’s no difference between the main political parties when it comes to such things.

One only needs to go back to the controversy that periodically developed around the equally controversial Peca ordinance. PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf) opposed it when PML-N (Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz) introduced it, checking all the right boxes about people’s rights, gagging the media, etc.

But when the shoe was on the other foot, and PTI went back on its earlier position and decided to give it more teeth when it came to power, PML-N gladly played the role of the defender of people’s rights, milking the headlines for its own political advantage.

Maryam Nawaz was especially active in those days, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the press in defending its turf, as some groups rightly reminded her after the frantic passage of the new defamation law that, typically, did not take any stakeholder on board and brushed aside all amendments proposed by the opposition.

To be fair, though, there’s no quarrel with the intent to check fake news, especially torrents on social media, often deliberately coordinated, used for blatant character assassinations and scoring unfair political points.

But, as often pointed out in this space, the country’s legal framework already provides comprehensive defamation laws.

But they don’t seem to be enough because of the unprofessional and fractured working state of the judiciary. If, instead of shoving unfair, draconian legislation down people’s throats, the government would press ahead with judicial reforms, most issues involving libel would take care of themselves.

But those in power in this country always display a penchant of flexing their muscles to keep other players in their place.

That alone shows how little they learn from history. And even though PML-N is presently comfortably deaf to warnings about how this very law might give it unnecessary headaches should the political pendulum swing the other way, as it does ever so often, the press has seen, recorded and reported enough episodes of this circus with the principal actors reversing positions to know what to expect from the future; rather who might have to pay the heaviest price because of this law in times to come.

With the opposition, media and even civil society up in arms, the Punjab government can still save some face and tweak this policy by accepting that this was just an example of doing the right thing in the wrong way. But, judging from its posture so far, it is unlikely to display such maturity and foresight.

And so we have yet another needless confrontation on our hands, wasting time and resources when the focus should be on improving the lives of the people; which have never been this strained in this country’s long, troubled history.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024