PECA Amendment Act taken to Supreme Court

ISLAMABAD: The amendments to the Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2025 have been challenged in the Supreme Court of Pakistan, here on Tuesday.

As per the details, a petition against the amendments to the PECA Act has been filed by citizen Qayyum Khan, in which he has requested the court to declare the amendments null and void.

The petitioner requested the formation of a full court to hear the case, saying that the amendments violate fundamental rights and Parliament has no authority to legislate against them. He also demanded a review of both the amendments and the original PECA Act in the context of fundamental rights, demanding the suspension of laws enacted by an alleged “fake assembly and fake president”.

PECA Amendment Act challenged in SHC

Meanwhile, the PECA Amendment Act has also been challenged in the Sindh High Court through a petition filed by Advocate Ibrahim Saifuddin. The petition has named the federal government, the Ministry of Information and the Ministry of IT and Telecom as respondents.

The petition argues that the amendments empower authorities to remove or block content on social media platforms. It also points out that the term “false or fake” has not been defined under Section 2(r) Sub-section 1(h) of the amended Act.

It further claims that the amendments are an attempt to censor truth, thereby restricting the public’s access to information about their elected representatives. Under the amendments, the federal government will set up a Social Media Complaints Council with no retirement age for its members. The Act also lacks a clear definition of “fake or false content”.

Furthermore, the petition warns that the amendments can be misused to access the sources of journalists, compromising their privacy. It has termed the amendments as a direct attack on freedom of expression and journalism.

The petitioner has urged the court to declare the amendments to the PECA Act unconstitutional.