Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif instructed his party on Monday to table a resolution in parliament under the Rule 145 to repeal the Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) Amendment Ordinance.
During a meeting with a delegation of the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the media, Shehbaz, also the president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), further instructed the party’s lawmakers to submit a requisition for a joint sitting of parliament.
Under the Rule 145, a resolution is tabled in the joint sitting of parliament to repeal an ordinance. The ordinance is revoked after the approval of the resolution. Shahbaz decided to requisition the joint sitting to repeal the “black law against media” and instructed the party to take practical steps in this regard.
The JAC delegation included leaders of the Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA), the Association of Electronic Media Editors and News Directors (AEMEND), the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) and the All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS).
Shahbaz assured the delegation that if Almighty Allah gave the opportunity and the PML-N came to power, it would repeal the “black, authoritarian and anti-media laws” that violated the constitutional right to freedom of access to information.
Shahbaz supported the JAC decision to challenge the PECA amendment in the court. He termed the PECA Amendment Ordinance a manifestation of the “authoritarian, fascist and undemocratic” thinking of the present government.
“We reject these amendments and will challenge all these black laws at every legal forum to block them,” Shehbaz told the delegation. He added that the media was like a mirror, and “if the rulers cannot see their faces then they should improve their features”.
