ISLAMABAD: Another petition against recent am­endments to the Prev­e­ntion of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca) has been filed in the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

The challenge, filed by the IHC Journalists Asso­ciation (IHCJA), was tak­en up by Acting Chief Jus­tice Mohammad Sarfraz Dogar on Monday.

During the hearing, the petitioner’s counsel arg­ued that the Preven­tion of Electronic Crimes (Ame­nd­­ment) Act 2025 was a “severe attack” on freedom of the press and violated fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution.

The petition highligh­ted that the act, amending the original law passed in 2016, was unconstitutional and illegal, undermines judicial review, and grants the government excessive powers to censor content.

It also emphasized that the amendments were in conflict with articles 19 (freedom of speech) and 19A (right to information) of the Constitution.

The petitioner further contended that the regulatory authority established under the amended Peca lacked constitutional status and independence, as it would be “subject to go­­vernment control”, including appointments and removals.

They described the Act as the “worst violation of digital rights in Pakistan”, calling for its immediate judicial review.

Following the argume­nts, the acting CJ clubbed the IHCJA’s challenge with identical petitions pending before Jus­tice Inaam Ameen Minhas.

During the last hearing, Justice Minhas sought the assistance of the attorney general for Pakistan on a petition challenging the changes to the cybercrime law. The petition was filed by a faction of the Pakis­tan Federal Union of Journalists.

Published in Dawn, February 18th, 2025