LAHORE: The Punjab Assembly passed the Defamation Bill, 2024, rejecting all amendments proposed by the opposition amid protests by the PTI-backed Sunni Ittehad Council and journalists covering parliamentary proceedings.
The SIC members tore apart copies of the bill after the house passed it through a voice vote.
Vetted by the Special Committee-1 in the absence of standing committees, the bill was tabled by Punjab Finance Minister Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman after the PML-N government refused to delay voting on the bill, even for a week, at the request of journalists.
On the occasion, the press gallery members walked out of the assembly to boycott the proceedings. They rejected the bill as a “curb on free media”.
The draft law proposes a special tribunal to try those involved in drafting, publishing and/or airing “fake news”. The tribunal shall decide the case within six months and may impose a fine of up to Rs3 million. However, in cases of allegations against individuals holding constitutional posts, the high court will hear the cases.
Also, the bill says the government will provide legal assistance to women and transgender individuals in defamation cases through an official legal team.
The government earlier did not agree to send the draft bill to a selected committee comprising opposition members to invite all stakeholders for consultation, saying it had already been discussed threadbare by the special committee.
Opposition leader Malik Ahmed Khan Bhachhar wondered why the treasury was “in a hurry to pass the bill before midnight”.The SIC lawmakers waved placards and raised slogans against the bill, besides submitting 10 amendments to it.
PTI-backed SIC member Rana Shahbaz Ahmad claimed that opposition members of the special committee were not present during the vetting of the bill — one of three members was abroad, another in a court of law and the third was not heard by the treasury members.
He was of the opinion that the judge of the tribunal must be appointed by the chief justice, rather than the government, otherwise it would be damaging for society.
PTI-backed SIC lawmaker Ahmar Rashid Bhatti claimed that the law violated Articles 8, 202 and 203. He said the word ‘defamation’ that had been omitted from the Constitution through the fourth amendment was being reintroduced into the statutes.
