PPP against Punjab Defamation Act 2024, says Governor Punjab

Lahore: Punjab Governor Sardar Saleem Haider voiced opposition to the recently enacted defamation law, emphasizing that the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) stands against it due to concerns over its impact on press freedom.

The Punjab Defamation Act 2024, which imposes restrictions on press freedom, was signed into provincial law on Saturday by acting Governor Malik Ahmad Khan, a member of the PML-N, in the absence of PPP-nominated Governor Sardar Saleem Haider, who was on leave in Dubai.

Governor Saleem stated in a release that he had endeavored to block the passage of the 'contentious' bill, which became law 15 days after his refusal to sign it.

Meanwhile, PPP Punjab General Secretary Syed Hassan Murtaza pledged that his party would actively work towards the "withdrawal" of the contentious law. Speaking to reporters in Lahore, Murtaza stated that PPP was not consulted on the Punjab defamation law or the budget preparations.

He asserted that PPP's legal team was engaged in reviewing the disputed legislation and would strive to persuade the provincial government to retract it. Murtaza clarified that Governor Sardar Saleem Haider's foreign trip had been arranged before the legislation was introduced and passed in the provincial assembly.

The defamation law was enacted by the interim governor of Punjab, a member of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Murtaza added. The law has faced widespread criticism from journalists, civil society organizations, and the opposition.

Additionally, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) expressed serious concerns over the defamation bill 2024, with its chairman noting that the content and language of the bill raised troubling issues on several fronts. The HRCP emphasized that the proposal for a parallel structure to adjudicate defamation claims contravened fundamental rights and universally accepted norms governing the judiciary's fair functioning.

In response to the bill's passage, journalists rejected it, branding it as 'undemocratic.' Arshad Ansari, president of the Lahore Press Club, highlighted that a protest was organized in the Punjab Assembly by government members following a meeting of the Joint Action Committee on the Defamation Bill 2024. Despite the committee's offer to postpone the protest and request for a week's delay in passing the bill, this plea was not accepted.