ISLAMABAD: A joint committee of Pakistani media bodies on Tuesday said it had suspended its dialogue with the government over a new social media law, as the legislation was challenged in a Pakistani court, local media reported.
The government recently introduced through an ordinance an amendment to section 20 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016, which criminalizes sharing “defamatory” and “fake” content on social media but is widely viewed as a tool to silence critics of the government. The government denies this.
The new amendment increases the jail term for defaming any person or institution on social media from two years to five years, according to the Pakistani information minister. It makes it mandatory for courts to decide cases within six months, and has made the offense non-bailable.
A joint committee of Pakistani media bodies has taken a tough stance on the amendments and described the government’s engagement with the journalist bodies over the laws as a “farce,” the Express Tribune reported.
“The dialogue with the government over the legislation regarding media was being suspended ‘until the draconian amendments to the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) are reversed’,” the report quoted the joint action committee (JAC) of media outlets as saying.
“The information minister [Chaudhry Fawad Hussain] is toying with the media fraternity in the guise of engagement and keeps passing ordinances against freedom of speech while giving the impression that media fraternity is being engaged.”
The JAC comprises All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS), Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE), Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA) and Association of Electronic Media Editors and News Directors (AEMEND).
It said there was a grave trail of examples after an example where the information ministry was “tampering with freedom of speech, muzzling the journalists right to report, financially crippling media to influence journalism.”
“The fraternity had warned of this before and appealed to the PM previously as well that a dangerous trend had been emerging which is creating a distance between the government and the public as well as the media workers,” the statement said.
Hussain has not as yet commented on the remarks of the joint committee.
Meanwhile, the recently passed PECA Ordinance 2022 was challenged in the Lahore and Islamabad high courts on Tuesday, with the petitions claiming the ordinance was a “sheer violation” of not only the judgments passed by the apex court but also the Constitution of Pakistan.
The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) challenged the amendments in the Islamabad High Court (IHC), requesting the court to declare the ordinance “unconstitutional and null and void.”
PFUJ counsel Adil Uzair Qazi filed the petition that said the Constitution of Pakistan provided complete freedom of expression and while the world was decriminalizing defamation, the government was acting against journalists, SAMAA TV reported.
“One day after the Senate session, the government made amendments to the PECA law through an ordinance,” the petition read, according to the report.
“The government had already prepared the draft, they were just waiting for the session to end so they could circumvent the due legislative process.”
A meeting of the National Assembly could have been convened to amend the PECA Act, but the haste of the government showed its nefarious intentions, the PFUJ petition noted.
In the petition filed in the Lahore High Court (LHC), petitioner Mohammad Ayub said the law was amended to save the government from its “illegal acts” and requested the court to declare the ordinance unlawful, as it was liable to be set aside in the supreme interest of justice, the Express Tribune reported.
The petition made the principal staff officer of President Arif Alvi, principal secretary of Prime Minister Imran Khan, Ministry of Law and Parliamentary Affairs secretary, establishment secretary, establishment division, cabinet secretary, and the law and justice division secretary as the respondents.
Ayub stated the president promulgated PECA amendment ordinance with “mala fide intention and for ulterior motive” just to “harass and blackmail the opposition” as well as the public at large, which was against the scheme of law.
“The motive behind the promulgation of the impugned ordinance is a direct attack upon the independence of the judicial system as well as judges of constitutional jurisdiction,” the report quoted the petitioner as stating.
“Article 19 of the Constitution talks about the freedom of speech, freedom of expression and freedom of the press. Every citizen of Pakistan has the right to hold an opinion, the right to express them, and the right to speech. Hence this impugned ordinance is a sheer violation of Article 19 of the Constitution of Pakistan 1973.”
Ayub also cited proceedings of a case against journalist Mohsin Baig, who was arrested in a raid on his Islamabad residence after a dramatic scuffle on February 16.
On Monday, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) issued a show-cause notice to the cybercrime wing of Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for the “misuse of power” in Baig’s case.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has also disapproved the amendments to PECA and demanded immediate withdrawal of the ordinance.
Earlier, Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) President Shehzada Zulfiqar said the new amendments were clearly aimed at suppressing the freedom of speech and press, which had already got setbacks over the last few years.
He said the new legislation would defame Pakistan, where the electronic media had already come under the control of the government. “The mainstream media has already been controlled by the government. It now wants to control the digital media,” Zulfiqar told Arab News.
He said the PFUJ was not against legislation to deal with the issue of “fake news,” but this should be done in consultation with the stakeholders and only after all agree to it.
Pakistani journalists suspend dialogue with government as new social media law challenged in court
https://arab.news/2jq5z
Pakistani journalists suspend dialogue with government as new social media law challenged in court
- Law makes defamation on social media non-bailable offense, increases jail term to 5 years
- Many view the legislation, passed through an ordinance, as a tool to silence critics of government
Elephant Madhubala to be shifted to Karachi’s Safari Park in May— state media
- Madhubala has been in solitary confinement since April 2023 when her companion, elephant Noor Jehan, died
- International animal rights organization warns solitary confinement has taken a toll on Madhubala’s mental health
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani elephant Madhubala, who has been in solitary confinement at Karachi Zoo since last year, will be shifted to Karachi’s Safari Park in May where she will be in the company of two other elephants, state-run media Associated Press of Pakistan reported on Thursday.
Madhubala, one of only three captive elephants alive in Pakistan, was brought to the South Asian country with three other elephants from Tanzania in 2009. However, has been in solitary confinement at Karachi Zoo since April 2023 after her companion, elephant Noor Jehan passed away from illness.
International animal rights organization FOUR PAWS, which has been involved in efforts to have Madhubala relocated to Karachi Safari Park, said last week the solitary confinement has taken a strong toll on her mental condition, with boredom being her biggest stressor.
Animal rights activists have long campaigned against the plight of animals in Pakistan, especially elephants, and demanded they be shifted to “species-appropriate” locations such as the Safari Park.
“According to Zoo administration, the arrangements for the transfer have been completed,” APP said. “Madhubala will join two other elephants, Sonia and Malika after relocation to Safari Park.”
A FOUR PAWS spokesperson said the organization was thrilled to see Madhubala finally getting the treatment she deserves.
“Her story is a testament to the power of collaboration and the importance of animal welfare,” the spokesperson was quoted as saying by APP.
FOUR PAWS says the elephant enclosures at Safari Park would have water elements for bathing, skincare and thermoregulation. Enrichments such as hay nets, varying substrates like soil, sand, clay, and sawdust will be provided for Madhubala to dust bathe while the area is secured by elephant-proof fencing.
Madhubala will be carried from the Karachi Zoo to the Safari Park in a huge transport crate. The elephant is currently being trained to enter and exit the crate by herself and sit inside it.
‘Politically motivated’: Pakistan rejects US State Department report on rights abuses
- Annual assessment identified arbitrary detentions, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances
- Pakistan government and state agencies deny involvement in missing persons cases, other rights abuses
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Thursday it “categorically” rejected the 2023 country report on human rights practices issued by the US State Department, saying the report was politically motivated, lacking in objective evidence and followed an agenda of “politicization of international human rights.”
The annual human rights assessment released earlier this week identified arbitrary killings, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearance, torture and “cases of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by the government or its agents” in Pakistan last year.
The report also said the government “rarely took credible steps” to identify and punish officials who may have committed rights abuses.
“The contents of the report are unfair, based on inaccurate information and are completely divorced from the ground reality,” the Pakistani foreign office said in a statement, adding that the assessment used a “domestic social lens to judge human rights in other countries in a politically biased manner.”
“This year’s report is once again conspicuous by its lack of objectivity and politicization of the international human rights agenda. It clearly demonstrates double standards thus undermining the international human rights discourse.”
The foreign office said it was “deeply concerning” that a report purported to highlight human rights issues around the world was ignoring or downplaying the “most urgent hotspots of gross human rights violations” like Gaza and Kashmir. It also called on the US demonstrate the “requisite moral courage” to speak the truth about all situations and play a constructive role in supporting international efforts to end human rights violations.
“In line with its constitutional framework and democratic ethos, Pakistan remains steadfast in its commitment to strengthen its own human rights framework, constructively engage to promote international human rights agenda, and uphold fairness and objectivity in the international human rights discourse,” the FO added.
Political leaders, rights groups and families of victims have long accused the government, the army and intelligence agencies of being behind cases of arbitrary detentions, extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances, among other rights abuses. Families say people picked up by security forces on the pretext of fighting militancy or crime often disappear for years, and are sometimes found dead, with no official explanation. Pakistani state agencies deny involvement in such cases.
On Tuesday, Pakistan’s law minister said the government would reconstitute a committee to address enforced disappearances, hours after the release of the US report.
“Now the work is being initiated on this again on the directives of the prime minister. A committee is going to be reconstituted, there will be parliamentary presence in that committee,” Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said.
“There is no lack of seriousness on the government’s part to resolve this issue.”
Pakistani court bars ex-PM Khan, wife from issuing statements against state institutions
- Accountability court directs media personnel to confine reporting to proceedings of the trial only
- Khan widely believed to have fell out with army, leading to ouster from PM office in 2022
ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani accountability court judge recently barred former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, from issuing “derogatory” or “inflammatory” statements against state institutions and their officials.
Khan, who was PM from 2018-2022, remains jailed in multiple cases, including a 14-year jail sentence for him and his wife for the illegal sale of state gifts. Khan was first imprisoned after being handed a three-year prison sentence in August 2023 by the Election Commission for not declaring assets earned from selling gifts worth more than 140 million rupees ($501,000) in state possession and received during his premiership. In January, Khan and wife Bushra Bibi were handed 14-year jail terms following a separate investigation by the country’s top anti-graft body into the same charges involving state gifts.
Khan blames Pakistan’s powerful military, which has ruled the country directly for over 30 years, for colluding with his rivals to remove him from office via a parliamentary vote in April 2022 and subsequently cracking down on his supporters. The military denies his accusations and has repeatedly said it does not interfere in political matters.
On Friday, accountability court judge Nasir Javed Rana heard Khan’s petition requesting a fair trial. The PTI founder had sought the removal of glass and wooden structures erected at the Central Prison in Rawalpindi, where an appeal against his conviction is being heard. He had also alleged that reporters were not being allowed to attend proceedings, saying that the actions violated the principles of an open trial ordered by the court.
“The accused persons shall refrain from making any political, inflammatory and/or derogatory statements vis-a-vis state institutions and the officials insinuating anything to them,” a copy of the order, seen by Arab News that emerged on Thursday, read.
“The media personnel shall confine their reporting to the proceedings of the trial and shall not publish/report any statements in the trial proceedings, as witness or as counsel,” it added.
Khan’s convictions mean he is banned from holding public office and ruled the 71-year-old out of general elections earlier this year. Arguably Pakistan’s most popular politician, Khan says all cases against him are motivated to keep him out of politics.
Tensions between Khan and the military escalated in May 2023, when angry supporters of his party took to the streets in response to his brief detention, and torched government buildings and ransacked military installations in many parts of the country.
The army cracked down on Khan’s supporters and leaders following the attacks. Khan denied he had incited his supporters to protest violently, saying he was in detention when they erupted.
Pakistan eye comeback against New Zealand in fourth T20I today
- A second-string New Zealand squad beat Pakistan by seven wickets on Sunday in Rawalpindi
- Skipper Babar Azam says pacers Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah have ability to make comeback
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will be eyeing a comeback today, Thursday, in the fourth match of the T20I series against New Zealand in Lahore after suffering a defeat at the hands of a second-string Kiwi squad last week.
Pakistan will head into today’s match against Michael Bracewell’s squad without star batter and wicketkeeper Muhammad Rizwan, who has been pulled from the series after he felt discomfort in his right hamstring.
New Zealand are missing key players including Trent Boult and skipper Kane Williamson as they opted to play in the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) while pulled out of the Pakistan series due to injuries.
Despite that, the Kiwis managed to beat Pakistan on Sunday by seven wickets in Rawalpindi, shocking the 2009 T20I world champions on their own turf.
“We did not lose because of any two or three players,” Pakistan captain Babar Azam said at a press conference in Lahore on Wednesday night. “We lost as a team. In the batting, bowling and fielding [areas] we did collapse a little.”
Pakistan’s premium fast bowlers Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi failed to impress against New Zealand in the third T20I. However, Azam backed both bowlers, describing them as Pakistan’s “best” bowlers.
“They know how to make a comeback, even if it [bad performance] happens in one game. It is part of life,” he said. “It can’t happen that one person performs every single day.”
The series is an important one for both sides as they gear up for the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 in the West Indies and USA scheduled to be held in June.
The last match of the Pakistan-New Zealand series will be played in Lahore on May 27. Pakistan and New Zealand have both won one match against each other so far, with the first T20I fixture washed away by rain.
The match begins at 7:30 p.m. Pakistan Standard Time.
Pakistan suffered more from Afghan ‘imbroglio’ than wars with India — special envoy to Kabul
- Ambassador Durrani hopes Pakistan will overcome security threats from Afghanistan through diplomacy
- He warns of growing hostilities in the Middle East, saying the Iran-Israel conflict can engulf the region
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Special Representative for Afghanistan Ambassador Asif Durrani acknowledged that his country had suffered a great deal more due to the volatility in its northwestern neighborhood than its recurrent wars in the east with nuclear-armed India while addressing a conference on Wednesday.
Durrani issued the statement during a penal discussion at the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad while sharing a broad overview of his country’s threat perception. Pakistan blamed the administration in Kabul last year in November for not doing enough to address its security concerns by clamping down on militants operating from Afghanistan.
It even maintained there was enough evidence that Afghan authorities were “facilitating” attacks launched by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) against its people and security forces. Subsequently, Pakistan started deporting “illegal immigrants,” mostly Afghans, from its cities while citing security reasons.
“Afghanistan has become a permanent fixture in Pakistan’s regional paradigm for over four decades,” Durrani told the gathering. “In terms of blood and treasure, Pakistan has suffered more due to the Afghan imbroglio than its three wars with India.”
“Over 80,000 Pakistanis have died in the past two decades during the so-called war on terror,” he continued. “The country is still counting its dead and injured. After the withdrawal of the NATO forces, it was hoped that peace in Afghanistan would bring peace in the region. However, such expectations were short-lived.”
Durrani maintained that TTP attacked had increased by 65 percent after the departure of international forces while suicide bombings had shot up by 500 percent.
“The TTP’s enhanced attacks on Pakistan while using Afghan soil have been a serious concern for Pakistan,” he said. “Another worrying aspect is the participation of Afghan nationals in these attacks.”
He hoped that his country would overcome threats emerging from Afghanistan through diplomatic means, though he warned of the rising tensions in the Middle East while pointing out that the Iran-Israel conflict, if not contained, could engulf the whole region.
“Pakistan will also suffer,” he added.
Durrani said the estimated economic cost suffered by his country since the US-led “war on terror” was somewhere around $150 billion.
