Protection or pressure?

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ournalist Bilal Habib still covers crime and does investigative reports in rural Punjab in eastern Pakistan, but he says he is far more careful these days once he starts writing. And while he used to be very active in social media, he says that he no longer shares online what he has found out or wrote about. 

“When such kinds of laws in the name of fake news are introduced,” Habib says, “they are more harmful for people doing journalism and political activism in rural areas rather than major city-based journalists.” 

The “laws” Habib is referring to are those on defamation, and other legislation that authorities say are aimed at those spreading misinformation, but which rights advocates say are actually meant to control the media and put limits on the freedoms of expression and speech.

In fact, the reason for Habib’s turning extra cautious recently is that Punjab, Pakistan’s most populated province and its second largest in terms of land area, passed yet another new law on defamation, which now has both the media and rights activists up in arms.  

For journalists in particular, the law is another cause for concern that they certainly do not need, considering the growing restrictions on media. “The government of Punjab passed the bill in haste,” says Nasir Zaidi, former general secretary of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ). “I and other people have challenged the law in the high court and it is still on hearing.” 

Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) Director Sana Ali, meanwhile, tells Asia Democracy Chronicles (ADC), “When laws regulate or limit free expression both offline and online, they also impact the ability of journalists and media professionals to report freely.”

The Punjab Defamation Act 2024 was passed by the provincial assembly on May 20 and officially became law on June 8 after acting governor Malik Ahmad Khan approved it. It replaced Defamation Ordinance 2002 and its amendment, the Punjab Defamation Act 2012. 

Aside from broadening the definition of “defamation” and “broadcasting” to include social media platforms, the new law allows complaints to be filed “without proof or actual damage or loss” and the imposition of preliminary fines without a trial.  

Punjab authorities have argued that current circumstances warrant the new law. Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, for instance, says that it is “the need of the hour” amid the proliferation of baseless accusations being raised against individuals and institutions on social media and the mainstream press. According to Nawaz, neither the professional media nor anyone else has the right to accuse others falsely.

Lahore-based social and political activist Adnan Bajwa concedes, “Every country has strict punishments for defamation. And we are so late to legalize this bill.

“As somebody who expresses himself openly on social media and has expertise, I think there should definitely be a law and legal penalties for (defamation),” he said.  

“But,” says Bajwa, “the intention of the current defamation bill is to control the freedom of people.” The way he sees it, the new law “is not for the benefit of a common person but only for the protection of one political party … from criticism.”

The state before people?

Indeed, in an opinion piece published by the Dawn newspaper two days after the bill was passed, lawyer Azwar Shakeel asserted that its intent “was never to address the shortcomings of its predecessor law … but to provide the government with toothier legislation to target dissent and free speech.”

“This is evident in the language of the Statement of Object and Reasons of the bill,” Shakeel wrote, “which states that it protects ‘public officials’ from defamatory claims as they ‘damage the reputation and image of public figures or the government by defaming, slandering, and libeling them.”

The lawyer also pointed out that the law “prescribes preferable treatment for holders of ‘Constitutional Office,’ which under law, includes “other prominent positions, the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of Pakistan, and the Chief of Army Staff.”

Noted Shakeel: “While a defamation tribunal has been given jurisdiction under the new law, cases against the holders of the Constitutional Office are to be filed in the Lahore High Court. This disparity indicates that the grievances of the state and its citizens are not given equal status before the law. The former has been placed above the latter.”

Media rights advocates, for their part, say that the law comes at a time when Pakistani journalists are already experiencing increasing difficulties to do their job. 

In a report published last April in time for World Press Freedom Day, the non-profit PPF noted that the country’s media sector had been undergoing “a clampdown,” with “efforts to stifle free speech at all levels and the impact of previous restrictions and reprisal bearing fruit to silence the media.”

“We documented attacks against journalists including threats, physical attacks and legal action, to regulation, and unexplained and repeated closure of social media platforms, Internet access and mobile connectivity,” says PPF’s Ali. “As a result, journalists and media professionals were limited in their ability to report and worked within an overly regulated and restrictive media landscape riddled with red lines and a fear of consequences.”

As it is, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) says that Pakistan is already “one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists,” with three to four media murders each year. The global media rights watchdog also says that since January this year, at least six journalists in the country have been killed in connection with their work. 

In its latest World Press Freedom Index published annually, RSF ranked Pakistan 152 out of 180 countries, indicating a slide from its 150th ranking in the previous year’s index. Citing the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) of 2016 as an example, RSF says that laws are weaponized in Pakistan “to censor any criticism of the government and the military.” 

Just last year, Pakistan’s parliament passed the Contempt of Parliament Bill, which had media rights groups, including the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), expressing concern that it could be used to restrict the freedoms of expression and press.  

This is largely why journalist Habib says that he has not bothered to read the full text of Punjab’s latest defamation law. “This is not the first law (in Pakistan) to censor voices,” he remarks. “It has become a routine.”

Ways and means of control

“Pakistan has a long history of curbs on media freedom,” comments another journalist, Shahzeb Jilani. “The more authoritarian the government, the greater the pressures on the media.’’

Five years ago, Jilani himself was hauled into court for allegedly violating PECA’s Sections 10 (a) (cyber terrorism), 11 (hate speech), and 20 (malicious code). The case was eventually dismissed. 

But the veteran journalist says that the state has used means other than laws to control narratives and quash dissent.

“Media houses regularly receive dictation from government and defense officials over editorial matters,” Jilani tells ADC. “TV channels are prevented from reporting certain issues, events and developments. The civilian governments try to ‘buy their way’ into getting promotional and favorable coverage by giving expensive government ads.”

He says, though, that the state seems to be facing challenges in the digital age, where “it seems to have lost the monopoly over disinformation and propaganda.” According to Jilani, this has led to “a clampdown on social media, throttling of the Internet and talk of ‘digital terrorism,’” all of which “appear to be aimed at restricting freedom of expression and criticism of the state’s self-serving policies.”

In truth, a ban imposed on X (formerly Twitter) shortly after the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) formed a coalition government last February has yet to  be lifted. Pakistani netizens have also noticed slowdowns online, along with the introduction of various firewalls.

The new defamation law in Punjab, a PML-N stronghold, seems to be the legal icing on the state’s online-control cake in that province. But social activist Bajwa is unperturbed, even if he happens to live and work in Punjab’s capital.

“I was already careful before the bill, so the bill has no impact on me,” he says. “I still write on social media in the same way; if I am careful in any way, (it’s that) I try to avoid sensitive topics.”

Bajwa adds, “But still, the state has nothing to do with what I write on social media unless and until I start revealing state secrets. People who vote have the right to fully express themselves on social media.” ◉

Saba Chaudhary is an independent journalist and activist based in Pakistan. Her work focuses on human rights, gender, and social-political issues.