Ijaz Kakakhel Islamabad
A parliamentary body of Upper House of parliament on Monday deferred the consultation on “The Prevention of Electronic Crime Act (PECA) due to the non-presence of the Joint Action Committee (JAC).
The deferment decision was taken in the Senate Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting, which met today in parliament house while Senator Faisal Javed was on chair.
To the question of the chair, while discussing the PECA ordinance, the Secretary Ministry of Information and Broadcasting informed the committee that the PECA has not been discussed in the ministry nor it has been debated yet, adding that the matter also comes under the umbrella of Ministry of Information and technology and need to be taken onboard on the matter.
Senator Faisal maintained that there are certain reservations (of which some are valid) of different media outlets regarding the ordinance and the Ministry should listen to their outcry. He asserted that Prime Minister of Pakistan is a staunch supporter of freedom of expression and will never restrict media liberty.
He called for fruitful consultation on the PECA, adding that if the recommendations of the JAC and the media outlets regarding PECA are worthy then they must be considered and taken up. Senator Moula Bux Chandio said that hearing all the parties on important issues is a good tradition which needs to stay alive.
The Chairman Committee remarked that “Fake News” must end. He underlined the need for building consensus to end the culture of Fake news. After initial discussion on the matter the consultation on the PECA was deferred till the next meeting. The matter pertaining to non-compilation of the Prime Minister speeches (as was the practice in the past) was also discussed in the meeting.
