KP Assembly Rejects PECA Amendments and Digital Nation Pakistan Bill 2024 as Journalists Protests Against ‘Oppressive Laws’ | Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF)

Pakistan Press Foundation

KP Assembly Rejects PECA Amendments and Digital Nation Pakistan Bill 2024 as Journalists Protests Against ‘Oppressive Laws’

Pakistan Press Foundation

On January 24, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly passed a unanimous resolution rejecting amendments to the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) and the Digital Nation Pakistan Bill 2024.

Led by Khyber Union of Journalists (KhUJ) President Kashifuddin Syed, Peshawar Press Club President M. Riaz, and Peshawar Reporters Association (PRA) President Gulzar Muhammad Khan, journalists staged a walkout from the assembly. They protested and chanted slogans against what they termed as “oppressive laws.”

Kashifuddin Syed emphasized the need for stakeholder consultation in drafting regulatory frameworks.

“The way PECA was steamrolled into law shows that this assembly has been reduced to nothing more than a rubber stamp,” he added.

M. Riaz strongly said that the journalists’ community has never compromised on press freedom and would not do so in the future.

“We will throw such oppressive and draconian laws back in their faces,” he said.

The session, chaired by Speaker Babar Saleem Swati, witnessed attempts to resolve the issue. Provincial Minister for Revenue Nazir Abbasi was tasked with negotiating with the journalists. Following discussions, the protestors returned to the assembly session, where a resolution rejecting the amendments was presented by ruling party member Shafiullah Jan.

“This assembly supports freedom of the press and freedom of expression and rejects the PECA Act and the Digital Nation Pakistan Act,” Shafiullah Jan declared. The resolution, which condemned the laws as “controversial, oppressive and undemocratic amendments,” was passed unanimously by the assembly demanding immediate withdrawal.

The journalists’ protest came as a response to the swift passage of the PECA Amendment Bill 2025. On January 23, the National Assembly approved the bill a day after it was tabled by Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar. The Senate Standing Committee on Interior followed suit, approving the bill on January 27.

Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) has expressed alarm over the lack of stakeholder consultation and clarity surrounding the PECA amendments. In a statement, PPF emphasized the need for the government to recognize the importance of key stakeholders’ input and feedback in such actions through meaningful consultations ahead of laws being passed and policies being formulated.

Photo: PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN, JAN 24: Journalists are holding protest demonstration against the
recently passed amendments to the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2025, outside
KPK Assembly in Peshawar on Friday, January 24, 2025. (PPI Images).

Comments are closed.