ISLAMABAD: The opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) staged a walkout from the National Assembly on Thursday in protest against the controversial bill – Digital Nation Pakistan Bill, 2024 – that will give the government sweeping controls on social media, including sending users to prison for spreading disinformation.
The opposition lawmakers, including Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazal (JUI-F), termed the amendments a black law and criticised the government’s move to suppress the freedom of expression in the country.
The PTI legislators, led by the opposition leader Omar Ayub, staged a walkout from the house, shouting slogans against the government, after they were denied permission by the NA speaker to speak on the bill.
The journalists covering the proceedings of parliament also staged a walkout from the press gallery in protest of the bill’s passage after it was presented by Federal Minister for Industries and Production Rana Tanveer Hussain.
Talking to journalists, Omar Ayub Khan rejected the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) law, saying it would be used as a weapon, adding the day is not far when the ruling elite will soon get a taste of its medicine.
He termed PECA a draconian law aimed at restrictions on freedom of speech, saying the party would not accept any law that is against the freedom of expression.
He vowed to register a strong protest against the law in parliament, saying that the opposition alliance would struggle against this unconstitutional act.
He said this act will only add more restrictions on media freedom in Pakistan, adding the ruling elite is doing all this just to pressure the PTI, but nothing is going to come out of it as the party would resist the bill tooth nail at every forum.
He said that the PTI would launch a nationwide resistance against the modified media laws, censuring the government for passing the amended law.
He added that the passage of the PECA amendments exhibited the incumbent government’s negative approach and announced that a protest will be held in the parliament.
“We reject the PECA, which is a black law […] freedom of expression is being suppressed via enforcing these regulations,” said AsadQaiser, a senior PTI leader and ex-NA speaker.
He added his party will begin a struggle against the unconstitutional step through the platform of the opposition alliance.
Sheikh Waqas Akram of PTI announced that his party would organise nationwide protests against the act and also participate in demonstrations held by journalists.
Commenting on the amendments, he claimed that the rulers were only afraid of the PTI social media cell and wanted to bring social media under their control at any cost.
The government’s surprise move has not only drawn criticism from the opposition but also earned the journalist fraternity’s ire.
The Joint Action Committee (JAC) has also rejected the PECA amendments, saying they “are passed or approved without consultation with media bodies”.
The JAC is a joint body representing the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS), the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE), Association of Electronic Media Editors and News Directors (AEMEND), and Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA). In its joint statement, it said that the draft was not shared with JAC and its members. Before studying the draft, none of the JAC members are in a position to comment on the proposed amendments.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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