
Amid strong opposition and political hurdles, the Senate on Tuesday took a bold step towards turning the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) Amendments Bill 2025 into law by approving it.
Drawing ire from both the media fraternity and the general public, the PECA amendments were passed despite staunch opposition, according to The News.
Those in opposition described the bill as hasty and vindictive legislation, claiming that it's a tool to suppress government critics and commit blatant contravention of the freedom of expression.
The bill was presented in the Senate by Minister for Industries and Production Rana Tanveer Hussain on behalf of Interior Minister Mohsin Raza Naqvi. It was also learned that lawmakers siding with the opposition to the bill submitted certain amendments to the bill; however, they were not considered in the Senate.
Before it was tabled in the Senate, the PECA amendments were already validated by the National Assembly. The bill is now awaiting formal assent by President Asif Ali Zardari to come into effect as a law.
Condemning the bill, some lawmakers expressed that the PECA amendments will curtail the right to free speech, while others lamented that neither stakeholders nor the media were consulted for the bill.
Leader of the opposition in the Senate Syed Shibli Faraz was of the view that laws are made to protect people or to prevent something, which he said requires time and stakeholders' consultation to be quality legislation.