The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has expressed concerns over a law seeking stricter punishment for ‘ridiculing and scandalising the state institutions’.
The HRCP statement comes days after a court in Faisalabad sentenced a social media activist to three-year imprisonment and imposed a heavy fine on him for criticising Pakistan Army.
HRCP expresses deep concern over recent government efforts to amend the PPC and CrPC, expanding the scope of the current defamation laws and stipulating five years’ imprisonment ‘for scandalising or ridiculing’ the judiciary or army. pic.twitter.com/fSFRPrafPC
— Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (@HRCP87) February 16, 2023
A bill, titled Criminal Laws (Amendment) Act, 2023, is under consideration by cabinet members.
According to the bill, whoever makes, publishes, circulates any statement or disseminates information, through any medium, with an intention to ridicule or scandalise the judiciary, the armed forces or any of their member will be guilty of an offence punishable with imprisonment of up to five years or with a fine which may extend to Rs1 million or with both.
The legislation also proposes that the offender be arrested without a warrant and calls for the offence to be non-bailable and non-compoundable which could only be challenged in a sessions court.
Currently, the punishment for such an offence is three-year imprisonment with heavy fines.
While expressing concern over the government’s efforts to amend the bill, the HRCP said that “enforcing such measures would be antithetical to the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of expression”.
Earlier in a cabinet session, the lawmakers, mainly from Pakistan People’s Party, within the ruling alliance contested the proposed law. They termed the proposed amendments to the penal code against basic human rights.
