The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has closed nearly 7,000 inquiriesthat were initiated under Section 20 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes(Amendment) Act (PECA) Ordinance of 2022.
The decision followed the Islamabad High Court (IHC) declaration of theamendments to the PECA Act through a presidential ordinance as‘unconstitutional’.
The amendment ordinance was promulgated this February but it was soonchallenged in the high court. The opposition parties also voiced graveconcerns, calling it a ‘blatant misuse of authority to stifle opponents’voices against injustice’.
IHC Chief Justice, Athar Minallah, ruled that the offense under Section 20of the PECA 2016 to the extent of the words “or harms the reputation” andtherefore the punishment was unconstitutional and unlawful beyond areasonable doubt.
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DAWN News reported via official sources that the FIA had filed 7,000 casesso far under the recently amended law but they were all closed incompliance with the court’s order. As per the report, the action had beeninitiated on 70 percent of the total complaints filed by the women who wereharassed on social media by “known and unknown people”.
