Is PPP's role in PECA bill passage dubious

Bilawal's party claims it was unaware of fact that media was not taken on board before amendment

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LAHORE:

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) said it was unaware of a lack of consultation on the controversial Prevention of Electronic Crimes (Amendment) Act 2025 (PECA) bill that it had supported in both houses.

PPP Vice President Sherry Rehman, talking to journalists in Islamabad, said on Tuesday that they were told that all stakeholders would be taken on board, "which as one can see did not happen". She assured the journalists of her party's support in backing any amendments to this law proposed by media bodies.

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also voiced the same concerns as Sherry, stating that it would have been better for this legislation if journalists' organizations had been consulted to forge a consensus.

The PPP had opted for a similar strategy when the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had introduced a media/social media law in the Punjab Assembly.

The assembly had passed the bill in May last year under which those found guilty of airing, publishing and drafting fake news could be punished for up to six months and could be fined up to Rs3 million by special tribunals.

The government then had not agreed to send the draft bill to a selected committee comprising opposition members to invite all stakeholders for consultation, saying the bill had already been discussed threadbare by the special committee.

Punjab Governor Sardar Saleem Haider, who belongs to the PPP, had then raised his serious apprehensions about the bill and said he, after reviewing it, might send it back to the provincial assembly along with his suggestions.

The Punjab PPP had also expressed similar concerns regarding lack of consultation.

The governor first withheld the bill at his office for more than ten days and later left for a foreign tour, leaving the office to the Speaker of the Punjab Assembly who, in his absence, assumed the charge of acting governor. The acting speaker granted his assent to the bill.

Under Article 116 of the Constitution, the Punjab governor only had 10 days to give his assent to the bill or send it back, which meant that if the governor had any intention of returning it to the assembly, he would have done so within the stipulated time period.

Several PPP leaders were reached for comment—some were unavailable, others refused to speak on the matter claiming that party leadership had already revealed its position on the matter.

Former Punjab caretaker chief minister Hasan Askari Rizvi said on the matter that "No party has a long broad vision nor any concern for its public image. Political leaders are moving with a tunnel vision", he said.