ver the last 76 years, the number of ‘black laws’ aimed at suppressing dissent and throttling free expression and the press has seen a steady rise. The latest in the series are the recent amendments to the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016, passed in haste last week, depriving a people of its right to know. From ‘press advice’ in the early print days to notices by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority to the looming threat of imprisonment, Pakistan’s media landscape has never had it easy.

Journalism is a responsibility to inform the people about all that happens in a society—the good, the bad and the ugly, based on facts. There was a time when journalists were proud to be identified with the story they worked on or the news they delivered to the people. All that changed when the state became the architect of false and fake news. As a result, independent journalism degraded; some say that it died altogether.

Following the practice of ‘press advice’ issued by information officers to newspaper editors, detailing what could and could not be published, the broadcast media has been largely under PEMRA control. Private TV channels routinely receive PEMRA notices on what can and cannot be aired. Just as newspapers had risked being banned or losing their share of advertisements for failing to abide by the ‘advice,’ TV channels are taken off air or downgraded for ignoring PEMRA notices. Most of such advisory relates to critical comments or news. Bans on airing of speeches and statements of popular politicians are not unknown.

In 2016, the PECA was introduced to target those who used social media platforms to freely express their opinions. The new media had also opened the floodgates of misinformation as well as disinformation. Soon the government started targeting dissenting voices instead of monitoring mis- and dis-information or fake news. Journalists and rights activists were arrested and jailed for expressing dissent, as for instance in Shahzeb Jillani’s case. Cases were also registered against nine people for uploading a photograph of a slain Saudi journalist.

The general elections, held in February last year, marked a turning point. Some analysts argued that digitalisation had defeated the traditional methods of politics and electioneering. In some areas, voters defied and overcame alleged attempts to alter the outcomes through arbitrary arrests and intimidation. In the end, PTI backed independent candidates emerged as the single largest group.

Media stakeholders, including bodies of media owners, editors, news directors and reporters, have objected to and condemned the manner in which the new law has been passed. They have pointed out that despite promises to the contrary, the government did not share the draft of these amendments with them prior to its passage.

The most dangerous aspect of the recent amendment is that it has given unprecedented powers to authorities that could lead to conviction and imprisonment for up to three years with a curtailed right of appeal, instead of the regular legal procedure.

The sad story had begun when the then government imposed a ban on a reputed publication, the Civil and Military Gazette, following the publication of a contested story. The paper published an apology and sacked the reporter. However, a joint editorial was then published by leading newspapers demanding a ban on the publication. Only journalists’ bodies opposed the decision on the grounds that there was no justification for a ban after the newspaper had published an apology. Most journalists also disapproved of the joint editorial.

In 1967, an information officer called at a newspaper and asked to speak to the editor. After exchanging pleasantries, he told the editor, “You must have received a story on Bhutto’s press conference at his Clifton residence. Don’t play it up. Tuck it away somewhere in the inside pages. After all, Mr Bhutto is not that important now.” The officer made a similar call on other editors.

Those who dared defy such ‘advice’ often paid the price in terms of cuts in government advertisements.

The history of state suppression of the media in the country can be divided into three eras marked by the enactment of major laws: 1) The Press and Publication Ordinance, 1963, that remained in force till 1986, did not allow the growth of independent newspapers and magazines, so that many independent newspapers and magazines were closed; 2) The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority, which has controlled electronic media since 2001, when private TV channels were allowed to operate. The PEMRA, mandated to regulate the electronic media, was used as a tool to control and suppress mainstream broadcast news media. Among other things, PEMRA has enforced the ban on airing of speeches of certain popular political leaders; 3) The Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016, to regulate the digital media. The law has ended up targeting journalists in mainstream media and other dissenting voices.

Ironically, media control has been the consistent policy of all major political parties. While the PML-N has had the worst record since the 1990s, the PTI, which in 2016 opposed the PECA, brought more draconian laws in the name of regulation.

The amended PECA law is nothing short of a civilian martial law, targeting free expression, dissenting voices and the free press across the country.

Some readers may be dismissive of the gloom in this writing and call it a premature obituary of a ‘free media.’ The words of Muhammad Ali Jinnah should steer us in the right direction: “I do not wish for a single moment that any culprit who is guilty of sedition, who is guilty of causing disaffection, who is guilty of causing race-hatred should escape [punishment]; but at the same time I say, protect the innocent, protect those journalists who are doing their duty and who are serving both the public and the government by criticising the government freely, independently, honestly, which is an education for every government.”

The writer is a columnist and analyst for GEO, The News and Jang. His X handle: @MazharAbbasGEO