Officially, Pakistan has outlawed online disinformation and enacted laws providing for three-year prison terms. Journalists have condemned the action as an effort to quash opposition.
The recently enacted legislation aims at people who post online information they have “reason to believe to be false or fake” and would tend to cause panic, turmoil, or disorder. Given that the law bypassed open consultation and was fast passed by the National Assembly and the Senate, reporters walked off in objection.
Senior reporter and member of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists Asif Bashir Chaudhry stated that he honestly wished for a law against disinformation, but if it is not achieved via public debate but rather by fear and coercion, they will fight it on every possible platform. He also claimed that legislative methods like these go beyond those used in previous dictatorships.
Critics claim the legislation is a component of a more general suppression of dissent in the wake of political unrest; therefore, it now awaits presidential enactment. Particularly with the incarceration of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, whose followers and party members have been subjected to widespread crackdowns, the present government is accused of election rigging and legitimacy doubts.
Following online rumors of vote tampering, social media site X has been blocked since the elections of February. Television broadcasts also have Khan’s name redacted; news editors report lengthened attention to their programs.
Warning that the law would worsen political victimization, Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party member Senator Syed Shibli Faraz called it “extremely undemocratic.” Government minister Tanveer Hussain, on the other hand, supported the legislation and highlighted its importance in limiting social media-induced “anarchy.”
Drawing attention to their capacity to stifle journalism and restrict freedom of speech, human rights group Article 19 pointed out a worldwide increase in “disinformation” laws throughout the last ten years.
