The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has completed approximately 7,000 investigations launched under Section 20 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes (Amendment) Act (PECA) Ordinance of 2022.
The verdict came after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) ruled that the alterations to the PECA Act made through a presidential edict were ‘unconstitutional.’
The amended ordinance was passed in February, but it was quickly challenged in the Supreme Court. Opposition parties expressed significant concerns as well, calling it a “blatant misuse of authority to muzzle opponents’ voices against injustice.”
IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah concluded that the offence under Section 20 of the PECA 2016 to the extent of the phrases “or harms the reputation” was unconstitutional and unlawful beyond a reasonable doubt, and hence the punishment was unconstitutional and unlawful beyond a reasonable doubt.
According to official sources, the FIA has filed 7,000 cases under the recently modified statute, all of which have been closed in accordance with the court’s judgment.
According to the research, 70 percent of all complaints filed by women who were harassed on social media by “known and unknown people” were investigated.
Female students at public and private colleges and other educational institutions made up a major portion of the complainants. Sexual harassment on Facebook was the subject of more than 60% of the overall complaints.
People running Facebook pages in the identities of the female complainants were also accused of exploiting their images and personal information, according to the complaints.
The renowned defamation case of singer Meesha Shafi, as well as journalists Asad Toor, Absar Alam, and Mohsin Baig, were all dealt with under Section 20 of the PECA Ordinance.
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