Pakistan

Cabinet approves law seeking seven-year jail term for individuals spreading hate on social media

Published

1 year ago

Farwa

Amendment authorises FIA to take action against individuals sharing hateful content on social media.
Proposal also recommends inclusion of Section 505 of Pakistan Penal Code in FIA Act.
Cabinet approved the amendments in the FIA Act through a summary moved via circulation.

ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet on Wednesday approved an amendment imposing seven-year imprisonment for those spreading hateful content on social media.

Under the amendment, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has been authorised to take action against such individuals.

The proposal has also recommended the inclusion of Section 505 of the Pakistan Penal Code in the FIA Act. Once the amendment is approved, FIA will also have the authority to take action on any kind of fake news and rumours on social media.

The cabinet approved the amendments in the FIA act through a summary moved via circulation. The final approval of the amendment will be taken by Parliament.

In February of this year, President Arif Alvi had approved an ordinance of a similar nature proposing amendments in the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, (PECA) 2016. The ordinance was signed by the president when the Imran Khan-led government’s cabinet had approved it.

The law, back then, proposed a five-year sentence for criticising state institutions, including the Pakistan Army, judiciary and others on electronic media.

However, in April of this year, the Islamabad High Court had declared the ordinance “unconstitutional” and directed the federal government to probe abuse of the law and submit a report.

The media bodies had challenged the “draconian law” in the IHC following countrywide protests.

Journalist associations, including the Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA), the All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS), the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE), the Association of Electronic Media Editors and News Directors (AEMEND) and some senior journalists of the country, had filed the petition through senior lawyer Munir A Malik.

Latest News

Lahore, PP-161: LHC deems the ECP recounting order null and invalid

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

Farrukh Javed, the victorious candidate, filed a petition against the Election Commission of Pakistan’s order to recount the votes in PP-161 before a single bench of the high court, led by Justice Shahid Karim, was formed.

The bench dismissed the ECP’s order to recount the votes in the constituency and accepted the petition.

The PML-N candidate Umar Sohail filed a petition for a vote recount with the electoral commission, according to Unmute Farrukh Javed MPA’s court plea.

Per the petitioner, the electoral commission issued a notice of vote recount after granting the second-place candidate’s request.

In his view, the election process was not yet over when the ECP issued the order for a vote recount.

The ECP’s order for the recounting of ballots in provincial constituency PP-161 was revoked by the bench after it allowed the petition.

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The LHC has issued a summons regarding the policy on wheat procurement.

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

The court was considering a petition filed by the Punjab farmers challenging the province government’s decision to decline purchasing wheat from them.

The petitioner alleged that the government is legally obligated to procure wheat from farmers at the designated price and had publicised a policy to purchase wheat from farmers at Rs 3,900 per maund. However, the government has failed to put this policy into effect.

The Punjab government was scheduled to commence the procurement of wheat from farmers on April 22. However, there has been no progress thus far in the wheat purchase, thereby exposing farmers to the risk of selling their harvests at reduced prices as a result of rainfall.

The petitioner implored the court to mandate the government’s procurement of wheat from farmers and to initiate measures against the mafia.

Punjab farmers have filed a petition with the Lahore High Court (LHC) to challenge the government’s decision to not purchase their wheat.

Following an initial hearing on the case, Justice Shahid Karim, the judge of the LHC, requested a documentation of the Punjab government’s choices pertaining to wheat purchase.

Punjab’s farmers are currently protesting the government’s decision to postpone the purchase of wheat from them.

Yesterday, insiders from the Food Department disclosed that the Punjab government has not yet made a decision regarding the procurement of wheat.

Latest News

Lahore experiences a winter-like ambiance following rainfall.

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

Lahore’s maximum temperature has significantly decreased due to recent rainfall in the province capital over the past 24 hours.

Jail Road saw a rainfall of 8.5 millimeters, Gulberg received 10 millimeters, and Lakshmi Chowk received 14 millimeters of rainfall. In addition, Upper Mall received a rainfall measurement of 5 millimeters, Mughalpura received 3.5 millimeters, and Tajpura received 3 millimeters.

In addition, Nishtar Town received a rainfall of 1 millimeter, Pani Wala Talab received 12 millimeters, Farukh Abad received 4 millimeters, Gulshan Ravi received 20 millimeters, Iqbal Town received 6 millimeters, Samanabad received 8 millimeters, and Johar Town received 1 millimeter.

The city’s electricity transmission infrastructure has been significantly affected by the rain, resulting in the tripping of over 100 Lesco feeders. Multiple localities had power outages as a result of tripped feeders and other technical malfunctions.

Power outages have resulted in substantial discomfort for people in several localities, including as Manawan, Batapur, Sabzazar, Gulshan Ravi, Samanabad, Pir Nasir, Mughalpura, Shalimar, Mustafa Abad, Baghbanpura, Ferozpur Road, Islampura, Qila Gujjar Singh, and Walton Road.