Journalists bodies to mount court challenge

Rejecting the controversial amendments to the Peca Act, the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of journalist organisations has announced to challenge the bill in court and launch a protest movement against the legislation, passed by the National Assembly on Thursday.

A special meeting of the Joint Action Committee — including PFUJ, PBA, CPNE, AEMEND and APNS—was held to discuss the strategy in the wake of the passage of the bill. The committee stated the federal government had breached its promise by bulldozing the controversial bill in the National Assembly without consulting the stakeholders.

It said that the focus of this bill was not on just the social media, but also the electronic and print media's digital platforms, with the aim of criminalising dissenting opinions. However, if the government still wished to consult stakeholders, it should restrain from passing the controversial bill in the Senate.

Otherwise, the JAC warned, it would begin its protest plan. In case, the bill was tabled in the Senate, the journalists would not only hold protest demonstration during the session but also give a countrywide protest call.

In this regard, a large protest rally with participation of all journalist bodies will be held in Islamabad. Lawyers, human rights organisations, civil society and political parties would also be invited to join the protest demonstrations.

The JAC also decided to challenge the Peca Act Amendment Bill in the court after its final approval, and consultations with lawyers have already begun. The JAC reiterated that the journalist organisations were not against any law, but they would never accept any legislation without consultation.