The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) on Friday called for further expansion of its nationwide protests against amendments to the Pre­vention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016 which were recently passed into law.

The new provisions introduce harsher penalties for what the government considers “fake news”, the expansion of state oversight of digital platforms, and the creation of new regulatory bodies to monitor social media.

President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday gave his assent to the Peca amendments despite widespread backlash from political parties, journalist bodies, and human rights organisations.

The PFUJ announced a day earlier to observe a “Black Day” today in protest of the law’s passage. Journalists wore black armbands as rallies took place across Pakistan today while the main event was held at the National Press Club (NPC).

Senior journalists and heads of various journalist bodies termed the amendment a “draconian and black law” meant to take away the right of expression from journalists and the public.

PFUJ President Afzal Butt, Naseem Zahra, Ali Raza Alvi, Gharida Farooqui, Nayyer Ali, Sami Ibrahim, Matiullah Jan, Mubarak Zeb and others spoke at the NPC.

“Those currently in power want to [hold on to it forever], and they passed the law to suppress journalists [so that] no one can raise questions on their wrongdoings,” Zahra said.

She added that no one was taken on board while passing this “black law”, whose sole purpose was to paralyse “already destroyed journalism in Pakistan”.

According to Farooqui, the rallies were for “real independence and freedom of speech” and encouraged journalists to be united in this cause.

She said the law was an attempt to “silence the voices of the entire journalistic community” and the public, particularly the youth, who comprised 70 per cent of the country.

NPC Secretary Nayyer Ali echoed Farooqui’s sentiments of all journalists being on the same page as they rallied across the country against the amendment.

She said journalists had rejected this law when it was enacted in 2016 and continued to oppose it since it took away citizens’ fundamental right to free speech and was a “violation of human rights”.

Senior journalist Sami Ibrahim said it was time to move forward and remain united in this cause, otherwise, it would be a “massive loss” for the journalists in the future.

Matiullah Jan called the Peca amendment a state policy aimed at eliminating journalism from Pakistan and silencing voices. He said that those who came to power in 2018 and 2023 “on the shoulders of the establishment” were the ones to pass “this draconian act”, adding that the state was “against journalism”.

He called on journalist bodies to decide whether to welcome politicians to press clubs or boycott them altogether since politicians “could not move a single inch” without the support of journalists.

Butt thanked all journalist bodies for holding rallies and observing the call for a “Black Day”. The PFUJ president said the movement would continue until the government withdrew the act and allowed journalists to perform their professional duties.

LHC issues notices on plea challenging Peca amendments

Earlier in the day, the Lahore High Court issued notices on a petition challenging the Pre­vention of Electronic Crimes (Amendment) Bill 2025.

The petition against the bill, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, was filed on Wednesday before the LHC by journalist Jaffar Ahmad Yar through Advocate Nadeem Sarwar. It said that the bill was hastily passed without considering the opinions of relevant stakeholders.

Hearing the petition today, Justice Farooq Haider rejected the petitioners’ request to immediately suspend the implementation of various provisions of the Peca amendments.

He said that a decision on the plea will be made once the parties have presented their stance.

Justice Haider also asked all the parties to respond within three weeks and issued notices to them.

The petition named the Federation of Pakistan through the law ministry, the IT ministry and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) as respondents.

It provided various arguments for contending that sections 2R(h), 2R(2) and 2(V), which were inserted into the Peca laws, were against the fundamental rights guaranteed in the Constitution. It further asserted that section 26A, which provides the punishment for spreading “false and fake information”, failed the “test of principle of proportionality”.

The petitioner, therefore, urged the court to declare those provisions to be “unconstitutional being inconsistent with Articles 2-A, 9, 19, 19-A and 175 of the Constitution”.

It also requested that till the final disposal of the main petition, the trial and proceedings be linked with the plea’s outcome.

Critics view the legislation as a tool for suppressing dissent and silencing critical voices, while the government insists it is necessary to combat disinformation.

Amnesty International warned last week that the recently proposed changes to the country’s cybercrime laws could “further tighten the government’s grip over Pakistan’s heavily controlled digital landscape” if enacted into law.

“The vague and ambiguous framing of some elements of the offence together with a history of the Peca being used to silence dissent raises concerns that this new offence will chill what little is left of the right to online expression in the country,” the statement said.

Journalists have assailed the legislation as an “attack on freedom of expression”, while the PTI has accused the PPP, an ally of the ruling coalition, of hypocrisy, slamming its support for the bill.