Government passed the bill for arresting anyone posting anti-army or anti-state material on social media. The bill that is passed is titles as Criminal Law Amendment bill 2020. It was firstly introduced by PTI legislator Amjed Ali Khan, and it got strong objections from PPP Agha Rafiullah and PML-N’s Maryam Aurangzeb.
In the last November, government also approved the Federal Investigation Act (FIA) 1974 which empowered the institute to take strict action against those who post anything against the state institutions, and who intend to spread fake rumors against Army or government on social media.
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From last few months, there were a lot of fake news and rumors against the government and Pakistan army. Many of the tweets from within country and some of them were from outside the country. These all social media posts ruined the security system of country. The government of Pakistan decided to pass the bill for action against those posting against Pakistan army.
Interior Minister Rana Sana Ullah told media that if the laws of bill will go against the freedom of expression then we will review it but passing the bill is the need of time. He added that posting anything against the security forces of country is counted in criminal defamation and we should not accept such kind of behavior in our country.
Previous attempts of same bill
A similar bill was also approved by National Assembly in 2021, which said that two years punishment should be fixed for someone posting against army along with fine. That bill was rejected because of political conflicts between parties. The criticism on the bill was not only from opposition parties but also from the federal ministers, like Fawad Chohdary and Shireen Mazari.
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Fawad Chohdary also tweeted about the bill saying that it is ridiculous idea, respect is earned and it cannot be imposed on people. There should not be any punishment on sharing views and freedom of expression.