LAHORE:
The Popular Party of Pakistan (PPP) said it was not aware of the lack of consultation on the controversial Law on Electronic Crime Prevention (amendment) 2025 (PECA) that had supported both cameras.
The vice president of PPP, Sherry Rehman, speaking with journalists in Islamabad, said Tuesday that they were told that all interested parties would be taken on board, “which as you can see did not happen.” She assured journalists the support of her party to support any amendment to this law proposed by media agencies.
The president of PPP, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, also expressed the same concerns as Sherry, stating that it would have been better for this legislation if the organizations of journalists had been consulted to forge a consensus.
The PPP had opted for a similar strategy when the Pakistan-Nawaz Muslim League (PML-N) had introduced a social media law/social networks in the Punjab Assembly.
The Assembly had approved the bill in May last year under which those declared guilty of issuing, publishing and writing false news could be punished for up to six months and could be fined to RS3 million by special courts.
The Government had not agreed to send the bill to a selected committee that includes opposition members to invite all those interested to consult the consultation, saying that the bill had already been discussed by the special committee.
The governor of Punjab, Sardar Salem Haider, who belongs to the PPP, had increased his serious apprehensions on the bill and said that, after reviewing it, he could send him back to the provincial assembly along with his suggestions.
Punjab’s PPP had also expressed similar concerns regarding the lack of consultation.
The governor first retained the bill in his office for more than ten days and then went to a foreign tour, leaving the office to the speaker of the Punjab Assembly that, in his absence, assumed the position of interim governor. The interim speaker granted his consent to the bill.
According to article 116 of the Constitution, the governor of Punjab only had 10 days to give his consent to the bill or send it, which meant that if the governor had any intention to return it to the assembly, he would have done so within the stipulated period of time
Several PPP leaders were contacted to comment, some were not available, others refused to talk about the matter claiming that the leadership of the party had already revealed their position on the matter.
The former Punjab minister, Hasan Askari Rizvi, said about the matter that “no party has a long vision or concern for their public image. Political leaders are moving with a tunnel vision,” he said.
