Islamabad/Karachi:
The recent amendments to the law that originally dealt with cyber crimes, the Law on the Prevention of Electronic Crimes (PCA), 2016, have been challenged both in the Apex court and in the Superior Provincial Court of Sindh (SHC).
A citizen, Abdul Qayyum, has presented a constitutional request in the Supreme Court, arguing that the PCA law (amendment), 2025 violates the basic rights of citizens and, therefore, must be reserved. The petition argues that even Parliament cannot approve any law that covers basic rights.
Meanwhile, two journalistic organizations, the union of journalists of Karachi (KUJ) and the Court Reporter Society, have approached the SHC against the amendments that were dragged through Parliament last week in the middle of the protest of the protest of the protest of the opposition and journalists.
The petition argues that the PCA law (amendment), 2025 gives the authorities the power to eliminate and block the content of social media platforms. It establishes that section 2 (r), subsection 1 (h) of the amended law does not include the “false” or “false” words.
The PCA law violates articles 8, 9, 10-A, 18, 19 and 19-A of the Constitution, while contradicting Islamic laws, he says.
The petition establishes that article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) also provides protection to journalists. Pakistan has signed the Declaration of Human Rights of Cairo, which journalists also safeguard.
The 2025 Pecienda (amendment) law is an attempt to censor the truth. The members of the Assembly are public representatives, and the public has the right to access information about them.
