Islamabad, May 24 (IANS) Journalists in Pakistan have urged the Parliament to review all media laws and termed the recent amendments to the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca) 2016 “draconian black law, specifically engineered to facilitate the arm-twisting of journalists and the suppression of Pakistan’s media landscape”, reports said.
A declaration issued at the conclusion of the National Journalists Convention on “Media Laws, Regulations, and Ethics”, organised by the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) and the Rawalpindi-Islamabad Union of Journalists (RIUJ), read: “We demand that the Parliament review all media laws that are contrary to Article 19 of the Constitution,” the daily Dawn reported.
Through the declaration, known as the “Islamabad Declaration”, the journalists slammed the “violation of the government’s solemn promise that these laws would never be weaponised against the press”.
During the event, the journalists voiced concern over continued retrenchments and the deliberate job insecurity created by media owners, especially in the electronic media, where layoffs were made without any justification, resulting in hundreds of media personnel becoming jobless amid record-high inflation, as per the Dawn report.
The journalists condemned the denial of basic employment rights to media personnel, including health insurance, gratuity, and EOBI registration and benefits.
The declaration stated, “The Convention expresses serious concern over the government’s policy of using public advertisements as a tool of financial pressure to dictate editorial content and enforce censorship through informal press advice. Daily Dawn, in particular, is a victim of this policy; it is being denied not only public-sector advertisements but is also facing a situation in which the private corporate sector is being persuaded to withhold advertising.”
In April, Islamabad-based media watchdog Freedom Network said that Pakistan’s media landscape saw a reduction in space for free expression during the past year due to increasing legal, regulatory, and economic and other pressures.
Titled ‘Regulatory Repression of Freedom of Expression – Legal Controls and PECA Undermine Media and Journalism in Pakistan’, the report stated that the amended Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) law is the most “consequential instrument” being used to restrict journalists and free speech practitioners in the country.
According to the report, the provisions of PECA law were increasingly being used in 2025 and 2026 to criminalise lawful expression, target dissent, and intimidate journalists, lawyers and political commentators.
Freedom Network released the report to mark World Press Freedom Day, which is observed globally on May 3 each year.
“The weaponisation of PECA has created a climate of fear where journalists are compelled to self-censor to avoid legal repercussions,” said Freedom Network Executive Director Iqbal Khattak, while terming it as “one of the most serious threats to media freedom in Pakistan today.”
The report has highlighted convictions of human rights lawyers, including Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha, as examples of how custodial sentences were being used to deter dissent. Furthermore, dozens of journalists have faced charges under increased provisions of PECA, while defamation cases, regulatory suspensions and internet shutdowns have further affected independent journalism.
The report mentioned that state-led efforts to counter disinformation and hate speech were often used along with increased surveillance and selective enforcement.
“In terms of journalist safety, the report documented at least 129 verified incidents of violations during the review period, which ranged between April 2025 and March 2026. Legal threats and physical violence accounted for nearly two-thirds of these cases. Among these violations are two murders, five cases of threats to murder, 58 legal cases (mostly PECA-invoked), 16 cases of assault, 11 cases of threats to harm and two cases of kidnapping and enforced disappearance,” Freedom Network stated.
“Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa emerged as the most dangerous regions for journalists, while murders in Sindh and Balochistan underscored the persistent risks. State authorities were suspected as the leading perpetrators, responsible for over 60 per cent of violations, primarily through legal and custodial actions. Non-state actors, including militant groups and criminal networks, also contributed to threats, assaults, and killings,” it added.
–IANS
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