The federal government hinted on Wednesday that it was ready to withdraw the ordinance to amend the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016 after receiving a lot of criticism, especially from journalists who said it was a threat to them, and in the changed political circumstances of the country, a private TV channel reported.
On Wednesday, Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Athar Minallah heard the petition against the PECA Ordinance and expressed his anger at the FIA, saying that “the FIA is not a tool of public office holders” and that the agency was meant to serve the public. The FIA is targeting journalists and the people who raise their voice for criticism, he said. What would be the justification for the “power of arrest” under amended Section 20 of PECA? the court asked. “If a journalist quoted from a book, how would section 20 apply to him? The FIA itself has created a case to declare the section null and void.” During the arguments on the president’s authority regarding the promulgation of ordinances, the judge remarked the ruling for the Senate chairman is that whenever the ordinance will be issued, it would be present before the Parliament.
