President Zardari gives assent to Peca amendment bill

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday gave his assent to the much-debated Prevention of Electronic Crimes (Amendment) Act, 2025, despite calls by journalists and media bodies to repeal it.

The bill was signed a day after the Senate approved the controversial bill which triggered nationwide protests by a joint action committee of media bodies, which widely condemned the amendments, calling it a severe blow to freedom of expression and journalism.

The press release issued from the President House said Asif Ali Zardari signed off three bills after their passage by the parliament.

The signed bills include the Prevention of Electronic Crimes (Amendment) Bill 2025, Digital Nation Pakistan Bill 2025, and the National Commission on the Status of Women (Amendment) Bill 2025.

The development comes after the Parliamentary Reporters’ Association (PRA) claimed that JUI-F Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman urged the President to delay signing the bill on their request until the concerns of journalists are adequately addressed.

“The president, at the request of Maulana Fazlur Rehman, has halted the bill for some time till PRA Pakistan sends its suggestions,” the statement said.

Furthermore, the PRA said that a delegation of the PRA met with Fazl following which the seasoned politician contacted the president to convey to him the journalists’ reservations against the Peca bill.

Earlier, talking to journalists in Islamabad, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Vice President Sherry Rehman said they were told that all stakeholders would be taken on board, “which as one can see did not happen”.

A day ago, following the approval of the bill from the Senate, nationwide protests erupted as a joint action committee of media bodies widely condemned the controversial amendments, which they see as a severe blow to freedom of expression and journalism.

The protests, called by the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), saw large gatherings outside press clubs in major cities including Islamabad, Karachi, Quetta, Hyderabad, and Sukkur.

Journalists along with civil society groups, trade unions, lawyers’ groups, and teachers carried banners and placards condemning the amendment and vowed to continue their protests until the bill was repealed.