The Punjab Defamation Bill, 2024 is draconian, an effort to silence independent voices, expands the ambit of defamation, and differentiates between ordinary citizens and constitutional office-holders, say journalists and legal experts who have seen the bill.
The reactions to the law came as the Punjab Government on Monday went ahead and tabled the contentious defamation bill despite strong reservations already aired by journalist bodies regarding the legislation. Secretary-General of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) and president of the Lahore Press Club Arshad Ansari spoke to The News from Lahore on Monday night while the Punjab Assembly was still in session.
Emphasising that the session was still going on at 10.30 p.m., Ansari gave an account of what all had transpired prior to the PA tabling the defamation bill. After a meeting of media stakeholders at the Lahore Press Club, a call for protest was given regarding the bill. This is when the journalist and media bodies were asked to come in for a meeting with Punjab Assembly representatives. Ansari tells The News that they reached at the given time, held a meeting, and discussed the bill clause by clause — eventually asking the Punjab Government to give media stakeholders at least a week to review the bill. “However, the Government tabled the bill recently”, adds Ansari. (The News)
The post Outcry over ‘draconian’ bill passed by Punjab Assembly appeared first on DailyNews.