PML-N MPA and Parliamentary Secretary for Human Rights and Minority Affairs Sonia Asher has come under fire after being charged under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) Amendment Act 2025 for allegedly spreading fake news on social media regarding an ongoing rape case.
A Christian woman from Lahore filed an application with the FIA Cyber Crime Wing to investigate Sonia Asher under the controversial PECA law 2025.
The application claims that Sonia Asher’s false social media post has negatively impacted the legal proceedings concerning her minor daughter’s alleged abduction and rape.
It says that a case was registered at the Faisal Town Police Station in Lahore concerning the alleged abduction and sexual assault of the petitioner’s daughter, which took place in October last year. The accused are currently in police custody, and their bail applications were cancelled by the court last month.
The petitioner said MPA Sonia Asher, along with her colleagues, had even expressed sympathy with the aggrieved woman regarding the incident. However, on February 2, Sonia Asher posted a video on her Facebook account falsely claiming that the accused had been sentenced to 25 years in prison.
In her post, Asher had credited Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz for securing the supposed conviction. The petitioner argued that this information was entirely fabricated and has adversely affected the ongoing legal process.
“This fake news shared by the parliamentary secretary has had a detrimental impact on the trial of my daughter’s case,” the petitioner stated in her complaint. She has requested immediate legal action against Asher for disseminating false information, which she claims has complicated the case and potentially jeopardized justice for her daughter.
The applicant has requested that a case be registered against the MPA under the controversial PECA law 2025, which has faced criticism for its perceived potential to stifle freedom of expression.
