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.