On February 9, Justice Raja Inaam Ameen Minhas of the Islamabad High Court questioned the mechanism for determining “fake news” under the amended Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) while hearing petitions filed by journalists’ bodies and senior journalists challenging the law. The petitions argue that the amendments curtail freedom of expression and transfer excessive powers from the judiciary to the executive.
The petitions were submitted by senior journalist Hamid Mir, the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists, the Islamabad High Court Journalists Association and others. During the hearing, counsel for the petitioners read out the added provisions of the amended law and argued that judicial powers had been shifted to executive authorities. The counsel said that issues relating to the determination of false or fake information should be decided by an independent judicial tribunal formed in consultation with the chief justice of Pakistan.
Referring to Section 2C of the amended act, which places restrictions on false information on social media, Justice Minhas asked who would determine whether content was fake or false, and how the process for such determinations would be initiated. The petitioner’s counsel responded that the amendments allow not only the aggrieved party but also any third party to file a complaint, opening the possibility of misuse. He added that incorrect information could sometimes stem from harmless error rather than deliberate disinformation.
During the proceedings, Rawalpindi-Islamabad Union of Journalists President Asif Bashir Chaudhry told the court that the PFUJ had approached the IHC on 6 February last year but the case had remained pending without a stay order. He claimed that more than two dozen journalists had been sentenced to life imprisonment during this period and cited an example involving a journalist who reported on the use of substandard materials in road construction, which later contributed to the road’s early demolition.
Justice Minhas remarked that the amendments constituted legislation enacted by parliament and therefore could not be suspended through an interim order. He said the court would decide the matter after hearing detailed arguments and adjourned the proceedings until 6 March.
The amendments to PECA, passed by the National Assembly last year under a supplementary agenda, expand state authority to regulate online content and introduce the Digital Rights Protection Authority, which would be empowered to remove online material, restrict access to prohibited content and impose penalties. The amendments also broaden the definition of social media platforms to include tools used to access them and replace the FIA Cybercrime Wing with a stricter enforcement structure. Under the revised law, the sharing of expunged parliamentary or provincial assembly material may result in up to three years’ imprisonment and a fine of Rs2 million.
