For the second time this year, the government attempted to push through outrageous legislation, saw the pushback it was getting, and backtracked. Just a few days ago, the federal government approved an amendment to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Act empowering it with a section of the Pakistan Penal Code to act against anyone who intends to spread “rumours and false information against state institutions” on social media.
Upon hue and cry by journalists, civil society and human rights groups, government leaders attempted to disassociate from their own bill—just on Wednesday, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said that the government would not pass the recent amendment in the FIA Act, if it negatively impacted the freedom of expression, and told reporters that the bill would be passed only if consensus was evolved.
It is a good sign that the government is backtracking on this because the FIA laws are already widely prone to misuse. The new amendment, which was vague in its language and could be construed in a way to vest in the FIA powers so extraordinary that the misuse of the law and curbs on free speech became an inevitability.
Not only was the government attempting to bulldoze the legislation through an ordinance without getting stakeholders and the opposition on board, but this was also a short-sighted move considering that our criminal justice system is already overburdened, and crucial cyber matters, such as cases of violation of dignity and privacy on the internet, are not being heard. The proposed law, which was arbitrary and vague, only furthered the loopholes that exist in media laws. Content regulation cannot be so broad-based and journalists need a free environment to fulfil their responsibility to the government.
The government realising its mistake is appreciable but so far, we have only the Interior Minister’s statement—the Act needs to be formally withdrawn urgently. The parliament must think and consult stakeholders before enacting a law—we cannot keep having careless outcomes like these.