ISLAMABAD:
Justice Inam Ameen Minhas of the Islamabad High Court on Monday observed that the amendment to the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 (PECA) is a law and cannot be stayed by an injunction, adding that the court would decide the issue after hearing the matter.
The court then adjourned proceedings on petitions challenging the law until March 6.
The petitions were filed by journalistic bodies, including the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) and the Islamabad High Court Journalists’ Association (IHCJA), against the controversial amendment in the law. Justice Minhas heard the motions jointly.
Mian Samiuddin, lawyer for the IHCJA, presented his arguments in court and read the provisions added by the amendment. He argued that powers that should belong to the judiciary had been transferred to the executive. He added that a judicial tribunal should be appointed in consultation with the Chief Justice of Pakistan.
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Samiuddin further argued that Section 2C of the amended Act relates to the prohibition of false and untrue posts on social media. Justice Minhas then asked who would determine whether the information was fake or false, and how such information would be identified and action taken against it.
The petitioner’s lawyer said that the new procedure allows even a third party, in addition to the affected party, to file a complaint. He argued that this could allow proxies to file complaints and lead to abuse of the law. Samiuddin stressed that it was essential to determine what harm was caused by false information, adding that some incorrect information could be a harmless error, causing no harm.
Last year, the National Assembly passed a series of amendments to PECA as part of a supplementary package, significantly expanding the government’s authority to regulate online content and penalize digital offenses. The PECA (Amendment) Act, 2025 includes provisions for the establishment of a Digital Rights Protection Authority (DRPA), with powers to remove online content, restrict access to prohibited material and impose sanctions on those who share such content.
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The amendments also expand the definition of “social media platforms” to include tools and software used to access them, thereby extending the law’s jurisdiction to websites, applications and various communication channels. Under the revised framework, the FIA’s cybercrime wing is to be disbanded and replaced with a stricter enforcement mechanism. People sharing deleted documents from parliamentary or provincial assemblies on social media could face up to three years in prison and a fine of 2 million rupees.
Journalists’ organizations have criticized the amended law, citing what they describe as growing threats to press freedom and the safety of journalists in Pakistan.
