PECA law: Pervaiz Elahi asked to mediate between govt, media

ISLAMABAD: Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry on Wednesday telephoned Punjab Assembly Speaker Pervaiz Elahi and offered him to mediate between government and media over PECA law, ARY NEWS reported.

During the telephonic conversation, Pervaiz Elahi thanked over Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to inquire about the health of Chaudhry Shujaat as they also discussed important matters including PECA law.

The PML-Q leader conveyed reservations of media over the law to which Fawad Chaudhry said that the government believes in freedom of speech, however, no one should be allowed to target the personal life of a person in the guise of criticism.

“We are working on effective regulation in this regard,” he said and asked Pervaiz Elahi to play his role in mediating between media and government on PECA law. “We will ensure implementation on whatever agreement is being made with the media,” he said.

President Arif Alvi has ratified Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca) and according to the Amended PECA Ordinance, stricter penalties will be imposed for spreading fake news and hate speech content on electronic and social media platforms.

The amended act will also pave way for action over hate speech and fake news against the national institutions including the armed forces and national figures.

Under the amended law, the violators will be issued non-bailable arrest warrants and up to Rs1 million fine.