Pakistan’s National Assembly on Thursday passed the controversial cybercrime bill through a majority vote that prescribes a maximum penalty of 14 years in jail and 5 million rupees in fine for cyber-terrorism. The bill, Prevention of Electronic Crimes Bill (PECB) 2015, will be signed into law by President Mamnoon Hussain.

— “The bill was first introduced in the National Assembly in January 2015, shortly after the National Action Plan was introduced in the aftermath of the Taliban attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar. It remained in the National Assembly for over a year before being sent to the Senate. After deliberations there with around 50 amendments brought, it was passed on July 29, 2016 and sent back to the lower house for a vote.” http://bit.ly/2bnsP7R

— The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliate the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) have condemned the passing of the Bill. http://bit.ly/2bd61bF

— PFUJ: “The Bill is against the freedom of speech and expression of the media and against the privacy rights of the common citizen. Especially, the sharing of personal data with the agencies would create more safety problems for the media workers. It also violates the rights given by the UN charter. The PFUJ will continue to oppose it.”

— IFJ: “The approval of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Bill despite widespread criticism of it being restrictive to the freedom of expression online is a setback for Pakistan’s democracy. The law leave spaces for misinterpretations that could be misused to target opposition voices or journalists is the major concern along with state authority’s power to surveillance on citizen. The law could be used to silence opposition voices thus weakening the democracy, public sphere and the media.”

— IT Minister Anusha Rehman: “Criticism regarding the bill is baseless as proposed amendments have been included. Non-governmental organisations and civil society representatives are opposing the bill due to a certain agenda.”