The governor stated in a statement that he will request that the Punjab government reevaluate the measure. According to Sardar Saleem Haider Khan, the law wasn’t ready to be passed.
According to him, prior to the legislation, all relevant parties, including the journalist community, had to be consulted.
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“If the law had been passed through consultation, it would have been much better,” he continued.
It is important to note that in the face of fierce resistance, the Punjab Assembly on Monday approved the “controversial” Defamation Bill 2024, which aims to stop the propagation of false information on print, electronic, and social media platforms.
When Punjab’s Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman, introduced the “controversial” law, the assembly was engulfed in a fracas, and journalists chose to abstain from the proceedings as a show of dissent.
The widespread problem of false information on social media sites, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and YouTube, is addressed by the bill. According to the measure, anybody who disseminate “fake news” may be sued for defamation.
The bill also proposes a fine of up to Rs3 million and special tribunals to hear defamation cases, which will be required to deliver verdicts within six months.
It also mentioned that in cases of allegations against individuals holding constitutional posts, the high court will hear the case
The head of the Lahore Press Club, Arshad Ansari, announced during the press conference that the government had called for a protest in the Punjab Assembly today in response to the Joint Action Committee’s meeting on the Defamation Bill 2024.
Ansari recalled that the government members had already decided to bring the Defamation Bill before the assembly today, so there was no chance of reaching an agreement with them.