Senate Standing Committee on Interior approves PECA Amendment Bill

Islamabad: The Senate Standing Committee on Interior approved the PECA Amendment Bill, which was opposed by journalist organizations and JUI Senator Kamran Murtaza. Senator Irfan Siddiqui made it clear that journalists also have to be protected. If the law turns in favor of journalists, they will stand with them.

According to the details, a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Interior was held under the chairmanship of Senator Faisal Saleem Rehman, in which the PECA Amendment Bill was discussed.

The chairman of the committee objected to the journalist organizations not submitting written recommendations.

Senator Irfan Siddiqui said that in this country, there is no need for a law to handcuff someone, he was caught under the Tenancy Act.

JUI Senator Kamran Murtaza opposed the PECA bill and said that why is it being passed in such a hurry, there are many weaknesses in the bill. The fake news has not been explained, how will it be decided what is fake news, the one who lays the foundation for such controversial laws falls under its ambit.

The Chairman of the Committee said that he has been affected by fake news, if he files cases against it, he will only continue to pay the lawyers.

The Home Secretary claimed that this law is for the protection of the people. The government has also brought some amendments so that this law can be implemented better. He demanded that the bill passed by the National Assembly be passed in the same way. Later, the Senate Standing Committee on Home Affairs approved the PECA Amendment Bill.

It is pertinent to note that after being approved by the National Assembly by a majority vote on Thursday, the next PECA Amendment Bill 2025 was presented in the Senate the next day, which the Chairman of the Senate sent to the Standing Committee.

The amendment bill was introduced in the National Assembly by Federal Minister Rana Tanveer, while journalists and the opposition walked out of the lower house against the PECA Amendment Bill.

In addition, various journalism organizations condemned the PECA Amendment Bill in their separate statements.

The Joint Action Committee (JEC), an organization representing journalist rights groups including the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) and the All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS), issued a joint statement condemning the amendment.