Government withdraws PECA review petition

By Staff Reporter

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb on Saturday announced the immediate withdrawal of a review petition filed by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in the apex court for restoration of section 20 of the Prevention of Electronic Crime Act (PECA) 2016.

In a series of tweets, Aurangzeb said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had taken strict notice of the petition filed by the FIA regarding PECA.

“The Prime Minister and I learned a short while ago that FIA has filed a petition in SC against the IHC judgment regarding PECA Act 2016 to seek restoration of section 20 of the Act,” she said, terming it
“squarely against the government’s stated policy and the principle of standing for and ensuring freedom of expression.”

She clearly said, “Please note that this petition stands withdrawn immediately.”

She regretted that the news about the petition reached them a little late due to the absence of mobile network signals in Bisham, a locality in Shangla District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the prime
minister addressed a public gathering earlier in the day.

The FIA on Saturday had moved the Supreme Court challenging Islamabad High Court’s decision that had declared PECA section 20 as unconstitutional.

The FIA in its review petition contended that the IHC provided the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) relief “without legal justification”, claiming that the high court had misinterpreted Articles 19 and 19-A of the Constitution.

In Feb this year, the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) had filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court opposing the controversial amendments to the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), 2016 by the ousted Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) government.

Section 20 had subsequently been challenged by the Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA) as well as various journalist organizations and political parties terming it as “draconian” and giving FIA undue powers.

Under the amended law, the definition of a “person” was broadened to include any company, association, institution, organization, authority, or any other. Furthermore, anyone found guilty of attacking a person’s “identity” could be sentenced to five years instead of three years as the law earlier held.