Pakistan: Imran Khan's PTI agrees to withdraw controversial ordinance

The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government in Pakistan has agreed to the opposition's demand of withdrawing the PECA ordinance after the deliberations and finalisation of the draft by joint action committee members.

Pakistan Federal Minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain on Wednesday said that the draft will be sent to parliamentarians after being finalised in eight to 12 months, The News International newspaper reported.

Chaudhry Fawad made these remarks while speaking on a private news channel.

Earlier this week, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) had criticised the ordinance, saying that the amendment makes defamation a non-bailable offence, and increases the maximum prison term, if convicted, from three to five years. It also expands the definition of those who can initiate criminal proceedings for defamation, allowing any person or institution to register the complaint.

Terming dissent as the "most important acts of patriotism", Dawn newspaper columnist Usama Khilji said that stifling dissent seems to be a high priority for the government despite its claims of having a popular mandate.

"And this seems to be the modus operandi for anyone, no matter what institution or branch of the state they are part of. And for those who are not part of the state, several tools have been employed and strengthened to silence them," he added.

According to Khilji, the worst off in this list are people belonging to the peripheral areas of Balochistan, the newly merged districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, rural Sindh, Gilgit-Baltistan. "They are at the bottom of the priority list."

Earlier on Monday, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had defended the amendments to Peca, dismissing the criticism that it was being used to curb media freedom, the Dawn newspaper reported. "The Peca law was made in 2016. We are only amending to curb the filth on social media."

( With inputs from ANI )

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