Information Minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain has proposed the Supreme Court to appoint judges at every district and city level to ensure effective implementation of laws against defamation and derogatory write up. In a letter written to the Chief Justice of Supreme Court of Pakistan, he proposed appointment of four judges in every district with a population of five millions and above, two judges for the population of 2.5 million and above one judge for less than 2.5 million people.
The Minister said that print, electronic and digital media have massively grown up in recent years and it also has deep access in the society, which influence all segments of the people. "Unfortunately, laws pertaining to defamation and derogatory write up have not been implemented in an effective way, which has created a hindrance in accountability of criminals and quick dispensation of justice," he said.
Fawad also requested the CJP for making process of filing a petition, provision of evidence and recording a testimony easy and simple. In this regard, permission may be accorded to file an application through electronic and modern means by incorporating some amendments, he suggested.
He appealed to fully implement the law enabling an individual to record his testimony through video. He said chief justices of all the high courts should be requested to enforce this in their respective jurisdictions. He said this step would help stop spread of fake news.