ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is working on a draft law to regulate social media to “protect digital rights” of millions of users, encourage responsible Internet use and regulate online content to prevent hate speech and disinformation, confirmed a senator belonging to the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party on Saturday.
The authorities have long struggled to regulate the social media content through different legislations, prompting critics to accuse it of trying to quell dissent. The popular social media platform X remains blocked in the country after widespread allegations of election manipulation in the wake of the February 8 national polls.
Earlier this month, the government notified a National Cybercrimes Investigation Agency to probe electronic crimes and is now working on another draft law related to the social media content, making digital rights activists describe it as yet another official attempt to stifle criticism online.
“The government is currently working on a draft law to regulate the social media content as we want to curb disinformation and hate speech being spread through these platforms,” Senator Afnan Ullah Khan told Arab News.
“A committee led by the federal law minister is discussing the draft law as we have to ensure people’s right to freedom of speech and freedom of expression as well,” he continued, ruling out concerns the government wanted to muffle its rivals and critics.
Khan said the draft law would be tabled in parliament within four weeks for discussion and debate.
“The opposition parties or any parliamentarian can object to any clause of the bill once it is presented in parliament for vote,” he said.
“We want to protect digital rights of our users instead of imposing any restrictions, but at the same time we want those to be prosecuted who violate the law by inciting hate speech and pedaling disinformation, or any content against the national security,” he added.
The draft law may propose establishment of a digital rights protection authority to ensure effective enforcement of laws, Khan informed, but “all this will be disclosed to the media and public once the bill is tabled in parliament for discussion.”
Digital rights activists said successive governments in Pakistan had drafted new laws or amended old ones to curb the dissenting voices on social media platforms and file criminal charges against journalists and activists to restrict freedom of speech and expression.
“The government should involve all stakeholders, including civil society and rights activists, while drafting the new law to prevent its misuse,” Sabookh Syed, President of Digital Media Alliance of Pakistan, told Arab News.
“The government may strengthen defamation laws to prevent social media misuse instead of making it a criminal offense that could lead to persecution of activists and violate constitutional guarantees related to free speech,” he added.
Pakistan drafts new social media regulatory law amid free speech concerns from digital activists
https://arab.news/j8kr6
Pakistan drafts new social media regulatory law amid free speech concerns from digital activists
- The government says it wants the legislation to curb disinformation, hate speech on social media platforms
- Rights activists fear the authorities may curb online dissent instead of encouraging responsible Internet use
Pakistan offloads wheat stocks, boosts provincial supply to stabilize prices
- ECC approves sale of 500,000 tons of wheat, allocates 300,000 tons to Punjab
- Cabinet body also clears utility arrears and approves vaccine and fertilizer funding
KARACHI: Pakistan’s top economic decision-making body on Wednesday approved the disposal of surplus government wheat stocks and a major inter-provincial allocation to stabilize domestic flour prices, as Islamabad seeks to manage food security risks while containing fiscal pressures.
The decisions come as Pakistan grapples with food inflation sensitivity, climate-related supply disruptions and the fiscal burden of carrying large public stocks. Wheat, the country’s staple food, is politically and economically critical because flour prices directly affect household inflation and living costs, and past volatility has triggered public unrest and costly emergency imports.
On Wednesday, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet authorized the sale of 500,000 metric tons of wheat held by the Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (PASSCO), the federal grain procurement agency, through competitive bidding. It also approved the release of 300,000 metric tons to the Punjab government to ensure uninterrupted supplies to flour mills, according to an official statement issued by the Finance Division.
“The disposal of 500,000 metric tons of PASSCO wheat stock through competitive bidding aims at managing surplus stocks, reducing carrying and storage costs, and ensuring price stability in the domestic wheat market while safeguarding food security considerations,” the Finance Division said in a statement following the ECC meeting.
In a related move, the committee approved the provision of PASSCO wheat to Punjab, the country’s most populous province and a key driver of national wheat consumption, to help maintain adequate supplies for flour mills and prevent supply chain disruptions, the statement said.
Beyond food security, the ECC approved a technical supplementary grant - an off-budget allocation used to meet urgent funding needs - of Rs 10.98 billion ($39 million) to clear long-standing liabilities owed by the Pakistan Post Office Department to utility companies, part of broader efforts to address inter-government arrears that have strained public sector finances.
In the health sector, the committee authorized Rs 29.66 billion ($106 million) for the Federal Directorate of Immunization to ensure uninterrupted procurement of vaccines and syringes under the Expanded Program on Immunization, a move aimed at sustaining routine immunization coverage and preventing outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases.
The ECC also approved a Rs 23.42 billion ($84 million) subsidy package for imported urea, to be shared equally between the federal and provincial governments, as authorities seek to cushion farmers from rising fertilizer costs and limit spillover effects on food prices.
