The Lahore High Court has rejected a plea to issue a stay order on the immediate implementation of the controversial PECA Amendment Act 2025.
Lahore High Court's Justice Farooq Haider heard journalist Jafar Ban Yar’s petition. The petition made the Election Commission of Pakistan, PTA, and others as parties. The petitioner's lawyer took the stand that parliament suspended its rules for the hasty approval of the PECA bill.
According to the lawyer, the controversial PECA has been used as a silent weapon in the past. Adding new punishments to the controversial law will end even the slightest freedom left in the country. The controversial bill was brought about without consulting the relevant stakeholders and journalist organizations.
The passage of the amendment bill will severely affect the freedom of expression granted in the Constitution. The petitioner has requested that the court declare the controversial PECA law unconstitutional and declare it null and void. The court should make the actions taken under the controversial PECA amendment law subject to the final decision of the petition.
The court rejected the plea seeking a stay on the implementation of various sections of the controversial PECA amendment law 2025. The court ruled that it would first hear the positions of the parties and then decide.
Justice Farooq Haider sought responses from all parties within three weeks.
