ISLAMABAD: The opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the journalist fraternity expressed serious concerns and announced resistance on Thursday against the Prevention of Electronic Crimes (Amendment) Act, 2025, which sailed through the National Assembly during today’s session.
The bill was approved within minutes after Federal Minister for Industries and Production Rana Tanveer Hussain presented it in the lower house as the opposition parties had already staged a walkout. Journalists also walked out of the press gallery following the passage of the bill.
The draft titled “Prevention of Electronic Crimes (Amendment) Act, 2025” included new definitions, the establishment of regulatory and investigative bodies, and stricter penalties for disseminating “false” information.
The government aims to lower the punishment for spreading “fake information” online to three years, according to a draft of the document, while violators may also face a fine of up to Rs2 million.
The newly amended bill also proposed the establishment of the Social Media Protection and Regulatory Authority (SMPRA), the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) and the Social Media Protection Tribunal.
Opposition lawmakers termed the amendments “black law” and criticised the government’s move to “suppress the freedom of expression” in the country.
The Imran Khan-founded party announced launching nationwide resistance against the modified media laws.
Omar Ayub, PTI senior leader and the Opposition Leader in the National Assembly, censured the federal government for passing the amended law.
He added that the passage of the Peca amendments exhibited the incumbent government’s negative approach and announced that a protest will be held in the parliament.
“We reject the Peca, which is a black law […] freedom of expression is being suppressed via enforcing these regulations,” said PTI leader and former NA speaker Asad Qaiser.
He added his party will begin a struggle against the “unconstitutional step” through the platform of the opposition alliance.
PTI Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram announced that his party would organise nationwide protests against the act and also participate in demonstrations held by journalists.
Commenting on the amendments, Akram claimed that the rulers were “only afraid of the PTI social media cell” and “wanted to bring social media under their control at any cost”.
The government’s surprise move has not only drawn criticism from the opposition but also earned the journalist fraternity’s ire. –Agencies
