Pakistan continues to remain the most dangerous country in the world for journalists, and more and more scribes are being arrested for criticising the country
Berlin [Germnay], January 20 (ANI): Pakistan continues to remain the most dangerous country in the world for journalists, and more and more scribes are being arrested for criticising the country s Army under the Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act 2016 (PECA).
PECA, which is seen as the draconian tool to silence free speech, criminalises any speech considered to be blasphemous and even those who criticise state institutions.
Recently, a new section was added in PECA stating that those who intentionally ridicule, bring into disrepute or defame the Armed Forces of Pakistan will be sentenced upto two years and be fined over USD 3,018.
DW quoted Pakistani journalist Asad Ali Toor, who was one of the several journalists to have been charged under the PECA, as saying that the most frustrating part of his judicial process was that he was never told which of his tweets were deemed illegal, or who had filed the FIR.
Pakistan journalists face charges for criticizing military
Criticizing Pakistan s military has become riskier, and journalists are being singled out for flimsy offenses under a beefed-up electronic crimes law. DW speaks with one of the journalists targeted.
An archive photo of Pakistani journalists protesting against censorship
It was a normal day in September 2020 for Pakistani journalist Asad Ali Toor, who started his morning with a fresh newspaper and a cup of tea. But when Toor turned to page three, he was shocked to see a so-called First Information Report (FIR) had been registered against him.
Toor was being charged with spreading negative propaganda against the Pakistani state and its institutions through social media under the Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act 2016 (PECA).
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) arrested on Friday a religious teacher, accused of blackmailing his minor student and her family with her personal pictures. Creative Commons/File
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) arrested on Friday a religious teacher, suspected of blackmailing his minor student and her family with her personal pictures.
“The FIA’s Cyber Crime Circle conducted a successful raid in Gulshan-i-Iqbal and arrested the suspect,” said Faizullah Korejo, the agency s additional director at its Cybercrime Reporting Centre in Karachi.
According to Korejo, a “brave mother” reported that she had appointed a
Qari (religious teacher) for home tuition to teach the Holy Quran (Arabic) to her children. Later, her 13-year-old daughter complained that she had been “physically abused” by the teacher while studying the Quran at home.