In yet another setback to Imran Khan's government, the Islamabad High Court on Friday struck down as "unconstitutional" a controversial ordinance that critics allege was intended to suppress freedom of speech and the independence of media.

In February this year, the Pakistan government promulgated the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Ordinance 2022, making 'fake news' and defamation on social media non-bailable criminal offenses. [Read More] Under the controversial bill, the government also increased the jail term for these offenses, which critics argued, could easily be used for targeting journalists and political opponents. When the ordinance was challenged, the Islamabad High Court had stayed its implementation. [Read More]

Striking down the ordinance on Friday, High Court Chief Justice Justice Athar Minallah said that freedom of expression was a fundamental right and reinforces all other rights guaranteed under Pakistan's Constitution, reported Dawn.

"The criminalization of defamation, protection of individual reputations through arrest and imprisonment, and the resultant chilling effect violate the letter of the Constitution and the invalidity thereof is beyond a reasonable doubt," Dawn quoted the order.

Free speech and the right to receive information, the judge said in his order, are essential for the development, progress, and prosperity of a society, and their suppression was "unconstitutional and contrary to the democratic values".

Significantly, under the ordinance, fake news was to be punished with up to six months in prison, while defamation for up to five years in prison. Both offences were to be non-bailable.

The controversial amendment was seen as another attempt, pushed by the country’s powerful military, to curtail criticism and to give legal cover to growing censorship. The military, over the last several months, has increasingly come under attack, though indirectly, from the leaders of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), an umbrella organization of opposition parties, and even from section of the media.

On Thursday a five-judge bench of Pakistan’s Supreme Court unanimously scrapped the National Assembly’s decision of rejecting the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan without a vote and termed it “contrary to the Constitution”. The court also restored the National Assembly, terming Pakistan President Arif Alvi's decision to dissolve the house as  “illegal” (Read more)

(SAM)