The Punjab Gathering passed the Criticism Bill, 2024, on Monday, regardless of solid resistance and fights from PTI-upheld Sunni Ittehad Committee (SIC) individuals and writers. The bill was presented by Punjab Money Clergyman Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman and immediately moved to a vote, dismissing all proposed changes from the resistance.
The bill, checked by the Extraordinary Council 1 without any standing boards of trustees, lays out a unique court to attempt instances of “counterfeit news.” The court is entrusted with settling cases in no less than a half year and can force fines of up to £8,472. Charges against people holding established posts will be heard by the high court. The bill likewise guarantees government-gave lawful help to ladies and transsexual people in maligning cases.
Writers covering the parliamentary procedures left in fight, considering the bill a “check on free media.” Lahore Press Club President Arshad Ansari censured the public authority’s refusal to defer the decision in favor of additional conference, naming the law as harsh and contrasting it with past dubious measures like the Counteraction of Electronic Wrongdoings Act (Peca).
Resistance pioneer Malik Ahmed Khan Bhachhar and PTI-supported SIC individuals communicated worries over the bill’s rushed section and expected cultural harm. They contended that resistance individuals were absent during the bill’s verifying and condemned the cycle for lacking appropriate conference.
The entry of the bill prompted an exhibit outside the gathering by writers, who undermined further fights and demonstrations. Regardless of the clamor, the get together meeting was prorogued endlessly in the wake of finishing its plan for the afternoon.