JI rejects PECA legislation, gives call for country wide protest over IPPs issue

KARACHI: The Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) issued a strident opposition statement to the Prevention of Electronic Crimes (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which passed the National Assembly y Thursday.

JI Ameer Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman is of the idea that passing of the bill without consulting the stakeholders is nothing but a bald attempt to muzzle any dissent. We should get together to wipe out the menace of fake news that is becoming a serious concern in the present age.

The head of JI has given a call for an all-Pakistan protest on January 31 over the issue of Independent Power Producers (IPPs), which is another contentious issue in this regard.

Meanwhile, Punjab’s Governor Sardar Saleem Haider expressed that amendment to the PECA Act should have been introduced only after consultation with the representatives of newsmen.

It is a very crucial point, as the HRCP had earlier expressed concerns that implementation of the law in question could result in harassment faced by newsmen and political and social activists. The protest staged by the PTI lawmakers and the journalists who walked out of the National Assembly added a sense of unease surrounding this bill.

It’s worth noting that the PECA Amendment Bill, which addresses the important provisions of greater imprisonment for those who attack someone’s identity online, and trials in such cases to be decided in six months, has already been signed by President Arif Alvi.