Pakistan:
PPP President Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said the original draft of recent changes to Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) was very strict, but his party suggested many changes to dilute it, explicit news reports.
In an interview after approaching the Oxford Union, the PPP chairman declared that PPP has always been against the original draft of the PECA law, adding that former Prime Minister IMRAN Khan was the first to try such harsh legislation.
The government strengthened PECA with new changes to tackle fake news and illegal online content. The proposed law on the prevention of electronic crimes (amendments) 2025 imposed serious sanctions, including up to three years in prison and fines of RS2 million for the spread of disinformation.
Bilawal declared that the PECA law was not an ideal law, but it was significantly better than the original version suggested. He added that the law had been improved after consultations. He said the original draft included even harsher sanctions, such as a 30-year judgment.
“The original draft of Peca was very hard. Many changes were made only on the law because of PPP’s hard work and efforts,” he said. He acknowledged that “Pakistan faces various challenges as democracy is not strong in Pakistan,” he added.
He reiterated that PPP played a role in improving the PECA law and ensuring that it was not undermining democracy. He also defended the 26th constitutional amendment and noted that although it had changed from its original form, it still played a crucial role in strengthening by democracy.
