Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) is alarmed by the Pakistan government’s passage of the Pakistan Electronic Crimes Amendment Act, 2025 (PECA) without prior stakeholder consultation and a lack of clarity on the law and the bodies formed under it. This lack of clarity and consensus raises questions about the intent and the possibility of misuse of the law.
In what appears to have become a standard model of the current government, stakeholders seem to find out or at least receive clarity on the steps the government is taking in the digital media and online spaces after actions have been taken. PPF emphasizes the need for the government to recognize the importance of key stakeholders’ input and feedback in such actions through meaningful consultations ahead of laws being passed and policies being formulated.
On January 23, the National Assembly passed the PECA amendment, a day after Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar tabled it. On January 27, the Senate Standing Committee on Interior approved the amendment. It now needs to be passed in the Senate before being sent to the president to be signed into law.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government, under whose prior tenure PECA was made a law in 2016, should be well aware of the concerns of the media regarding the electronic crimes act and had also opposed an ordinance to PECA under the previous Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government in 2022. The PML-N has now introduced amendments to PECA via the Parliament. The lack of consultations and clarity of the amendments ahead of its passage raises questions about the intent and possible application of the law.
Section 26 A (Punishment for false and fake information) of the recently passed amendment reads: “Whoever intentionally disseminates, publicly exhibits, or transmits any information through any information system, that he knows or has reason to believe to be false or fake and likely to cause or create a sense of fear, panic or disorder or unrest in general public or society shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend upto three years with fine which may extend to two million rupees or with both.”
It is unclear how the intent of an individual sharing fake news can be established. We are also weary of the potential misuse of this section to target media professionals who share critical news that is then labeled as fake or false news.
The amendment grants powers to the federal government to issue directives to the Social Media Protection and Regulatory Authority, formed under the PECA Amendment 2025 and states that directives of the federal government would be binding on the authority and when any question arises regarding whether something is a matter of policy, the federal government’s decision would be deemed as final. This raises concerns about the federal government’s role in the functioning of the authority, and PPF has serious concerns over the federal government’s possible interference in its independent functioning.
Additionally, the amendment confirms plans for establishing the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) and grants its director general the powers of an inspector general of police (IGP). In April 2024, the federal government announced the formation of the NCCIA, set to replace the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Cyber Crime Wing. In October, the rules of the NCCIA were repealed, and the NCCIA was disbanded. It is now, under the PECA amendment, back. This back and forth, without much clarity, has plagued the current government’s digital media and online regulation policies.
Media bodies and rights groups have criticized the amendment.
In a statement, the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) “vehemently and outrightly” rejected the amendment and threatened to hold nationwide protests. PFUJ President Afzal Butt and Secretary General Arshad Ansari called for the immediate withdrawal of the amendments, which they termed to be the “blackest law” in Pakistan’s history adopted by a democratically elected government.
The Joint Action Committee (JAC,) including PFUJ and the All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS), the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE), the Association of Electronic Media Editors and News Directors (AEMEND), and the Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA) rejected the amendments which they said were passed without consultation with media bodies. The JAC said neither they nor their members could comment on the amendments as they had not been shared a draft. They urged the government not to pass the amendments without “proper consultations” with stakeholders.
The CPNE, in a statement, said that the government should have consulted journalists’ bodies, civil society, lawyers, and human rights organizations. CPNE Free Media Committee Chairman Kazim Khan also reminded Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif that he had been the strongest opponent of the PECA Ordinance (in 2022). CPNE said that it considers any law that affects any person’s free expression to be against human rights.
In a statement, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) said it was “deeply concerned” by the amendment.
“Given the state’s poor record on protecting freedom of digital expression, the bill, if it becomes law, is likely to become yet another means of targeting political workers, human rights defenders, journalists and dissidents by effectively penalizing criticism of state institutions,” HRCP stated.
Amnesty International also said the amendment would “further tighten the government’s grip over Pakistan’s heavily controlled digital landscape, if passed by both houses of Parliament.”
