KARACHI: In a decisive move against the recently passed PECA Amendment Act 2025, journalist bodies, legal experts, and human rights organisations have united to launch a joint struggle for its immediate annulment.
In this regard a convention will be held on March 1, 2025, at Karachi Press Club (KPC) to voice collective opposition to what is being described as a “draconian law” by its critics.
The decision was made during a consultative meeting convened by the Karachi Press Club (KPC), co-chaired by KPC President Fazil Jamili and Secretary Muhammad Sohail Afzal Khan. The meeting brought together representatives from various sectors, including prominent lawyer Barrister Salahuddin Ahmed, Karachi Bar Association General Secretary Abdul Rahman Korai, All Pakistan Newspaper Society’s Shahab Zuberi, Anwar Sajdi of the Council of Pakistan Newspapers Editors, Pakistan Union of Journalists (Dastoor) Secretary General Alauddin Hamdam Khanzada, and Karachi Union of Journalists (Dastoor) President Hamid Rehman.
In his opening remarks, KPC Secretary Sohail Afzal emphasised the diminishing space for democratic debate and the dangers posed by the PECA Amendment Act 2025. He stressed that journalists across the nation had unanimously rejected the law from the outset and would continue to fight for its complete withdrawal. “We will take every step to challenge this law. We will protest on the streets, seek legal recourse, and leave no stone unturned in our efforts to have it repealed,” he stated.
KPC President Fazil Jamili added that the Karachi Press Club had brought together various stakeholders— journalist bodies, the legal fraternity, human rights defenders, and civil society members—to coordinate a united front against the Act. “The government had promised to engage with us before finalising the draft. Unfortunately, those promises were never kept, and the bill was rushed through. We are now left with no choice but to launch a joint struggle to defend press freedom and the rights of journalists,” he said.
The participants at the meeting expressed their strong opposition to the PECA Amendment Act 2025, condemning it as a “black law” that should be annulled immediately. The group pointed out that the legislation grants undue protection to illegal and immoral actions, while already paving the way for targeted harassment of journalists, doctors, lawyers, students, and intellectuals who have dared to express dissent.
A key decision of the meeting was to organise a convention on March 1, 2025, at the Karachi Press Club. The event will bring together all affected sectors of society, and a detailed strategy for ongoing resistance against the PECA Amendment Act 2025 will be outlined. The gathering will also serve as a platform to galvanize public opinion and mobilize civil society in support of the campaign for the law’s repeal.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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