Islamabad: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has warned the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) that the arrest of a senior journalist and head of a news agency, Mohsin Baig, under the controversial Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), provides sufficient grounds to the court to examine the act itself and see whether it was in violation of the fundamental rights given in the constitution of Pakistan or not.
Chief Justice of the IHC, Athar Minallah, made the observation while hearing a petition that challenged Baig’s arrest under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) and PECA ordinance that was promulgated four days after his arrest. The judge issued show-cause notice to the Director of the FIA Cyber Crime Wing for implicating Baig under various clauses of the PECA ordinance.
Abuse of power
“How could you frame wrong charges just to please those in power,” asked Justice Minallah and noted that abuse of powers vested in the FIA under the PECA law had become rampant despite repeated observations and directions by the court in several pending matters.
This abuse of power is so rampant that its effect regarding fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution are likely to be profound, the judge further noted.
The court in its written order also issued a notice to the Attorney General asking him to satisfy the court on the next date of hearing, February 24, whether the PECA ordinance was in violation of the fundamental rights.
It is ironic that beneficiaries of such pervasive abuse are public office holders and powerful entities, while the fundamental rights of the public at large are being exposed to violations, the court further noted in its order.
Criminalisation of defamation suffocates democratic values and free speech and many states across the globe have decriminalised defamation because of its chilling effects on free speech and democratic accountability, the court noted in its order.
The consistent abuse of PECA by the FIA has raised questions of paramount public importance and the threat of arrest can effectively discourage exposing wrongdoings and corruption of public office holders and public bodies, the court order stated.
