Pakistan’s controversial cybercrime law became effective in the country on Wednesday after President Asif Ali Zardari formally endorsed it, ignoring protests by media groups.
The Prevention of Electronic Crimes (Amendment) Bill 2025 was passed by the Senate on Tuesday, following its approval by the National Assembly last week.
The law initially was enacted in 2016 and commonly known as Peca (Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act).
The changes in the old law sparked protests by media organisations which denounced it against the freedom of speech, and it was hoped that President Zardari may refuse to sign it in the current form after his Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) had expressed solidarity with the protesting journalists.
However, he dodged all such hopes to give his accent, the last hurdle for a bill to become an act, despite calls by journalists and media bodies to not sign.
A press release from his office stated that Zardari signed the Prevention of Electronic Crimes (Amendment) Bill, 2025, into law.
The amendments add Section 26(A) to Peca, which seeks to penalise perpetrators of “fake news” online.
It says anyone who intentionally spreads, displays, or transmits false information likely to cause fear, panic, or unrest in society may face up to three years’ imprisonment, a fine of up to Pak Rs 2 million, or both.
Journalists have criticised the legislation as an “attack on freedom of expression”, while the Opposition Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has also protested against the legislation.
The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) president, Afzal Butt, said in an interview on Geo News that it was “very unfortunate” that the President had refused to listen to persistent calls by journalist bodies who were pointing out issues in the Peca amendments.
“The PPP has greatly disappointed us but this is not a new thing for us...We will resort to legal recourse as well as move on to the next stage of the press freedom movement, that began yesterday, that will be a black day across the country against the President’s move,” he said.
Apart from media groups, human rights bodies like Amnesty International and
the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan as well as digital rights activists have shown concern regarding the law.
It is feared that the new law would be used to stifle freedom of speech.
Pakistan’s media has faced growing censorship in recent years, but the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif says the law is necessary to limit the spread of disinformation.