Blog Archives

Latest Posts

Monthly

Categories

All Posts in #Freedomofexpression

August 5, 2025 - Comments Off on PFUJ condemns freedom of expression crackdown 

PFUJ condemns freedom of expression crackdown 

At its 75th anniversary meeting, representatives from the Pakistan Federation Union of Journalists (PFUJ) issued a declaration condemning the government’s "escalating crackdown” on freedom of expression and media independence. The PFUJ president asked for a complete withdrawal of PECA amendments and other unconstitutional bills. The amendments, made in the beginning of 2025, are termed “unjustified, anti-media, and reflective of an authoritarian mindset,” by the PFUJ council.    

May 11, 2025 - Comments Off on TikToker sentenced to death in murder case

TikToker sentenced to death in murder case

A TikTok content creator has been sentenced to death by an anti-terrorism court in Faisalabad for his role in a fatal shooting incident. The case, which dates back to 2022, involved the murder of another content creator during the filming of a video. The court deemed the act premeditated and linked it to the pursuit of online fame and visibility. The sentencing has ignited debate around the regulation of content creation and the psychological and legal implications of online competition in Pakistan’s influencer economy.

May 11, 2025 - Comments Off on Woman murdered after exposing social ills on social media

Woman murdered after exposing social ills on social media

In a harrowing case underscoring the dangers of online expression, a woman in Dera Ghazi Khan was allegedly killed for exposing criminal activities on social media. According to police, the 22-year-old was an active social media user who highlighted drug trafficking and other societal issues in her area. Her relatives believe her online activism made her a target. This case raises urgent concerns about the safety of digital whistleblowers and the state’s inability to provide adequate protections for those using online platforms for civic advocacy.

April 21, 2025 - Comments Off on TikToker Kashif Zameer arrested by Punjab Police for ‘disrespecting police uniform’

TikToker Kashif Zameer arrested by Punjab Police for ‘disrespecting police uniform’

On Friday, TikToker Kashif Zameer was arrested by the Punjab police on charges of disrespecting the police uniform on social media. 

An FIR registered on Thursday by the Punjab police on driver constable Khurram Shahzad under Section 115 of the Police Order 2022 (police officer at any time liable to be called for dutied) stated that in a video posted on TikTok, Zameer was shown at a wedding holding a tray of money in front of Shahzad. 

In an attempt to curb charges, Zameer tried to pass an AI-edited video, where the constable’s uniform was replaced by a plain black shalwar kameez, as the original video However, during an earlier inquiry, the constable confirmed that the video where he was wearing the uniform was real. 

The police’s report stated that by using AI to show a false narrative, Zameer and Shahzad were disrespectful of the police, invoking sections 13 (electronic forgery), and 26 (spoofing) of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 (PECA).

In a separate video posted by Zameer on his Instagram, he claimed that the man in the video was not a police officer but his personal guard and that the video from the wedding event was altered by his “enemies” through AI to purposefully convict him. Zameer claimed that this was being done because of his vocal support for YouTuber Rajab Butt.

March 20, 2025 - Comments Off on Pakistani TikToker, political activist arrested for “misinformation” on social media

Pakistani TikToker, political activist arrested for “misinformation” on social media

Police in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, have made what is being reported as the first arrest since the expansion of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA). A Tiktoker and political activist for the PTI party allegedly published numerous posts that allegedly shared “misinformation and negative propaganda” against senior members of the armed forces and the Chief Minister of the Punjab. As reported by TechJuice, the case was filed “under Section 505 of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 20 of the PECA Act 2016”, “officials argue that such activity could erode public trust and fuel unrest.”

March 15, 2025 - Comments Off on Appeal against death penalty for online “blasphemy” to be heard

Appeal against death penalty for online “blasphemy” to be heard

An appeal against the death sentence, given to a former academic in 2019, is to be heard by the Lahore High Court (LHC) on March 19. In 2013, Junaid Hafeez, a visiting lecturer in English Literature at Bahauddin Zakariya University in Multan, was accused of sharing blasphemous material on Facebook. In 2014 his then lawyer Rashid Rehman was murdered in his office, and Hafeez and was given the death penalty in 2019, and has been imprisoned since.

In the wake of Junaid Hafeez’s sentencing, there have been a number of cases where people have been accused of sharing blasphemous material online, and given the death sentence or life imprisonment, as recently as 2024.

March 12, 2025 - Comments Off on Lahore High Court Orders Banning VPNs, Social Media Registration to Tackle Blasphemy Online

Lahore High Court Orders Banning VPNs, Social Media Registration to Tackle Blasphemy Online

Pakistan’s federal and provincial governments have been issued orders by the Rawalpindi Bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC) to immediately take action against blasphemy on social media platforms. To this end, according to Express Tribune, the court, ordered, along with the March 15th observance of “International Islamophobia Day”,

“further ordered ”the immediate termination of all types of VPNs, the registration of all social media websites, and the establishment of special courts nationwide, similar to NAB and Anti-Terrorism Courts (ATCs). It also ordered the appointment of dedicated judges for these courts, the creation of a special wing within the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to combat blasphemy, and the establishment of a Counter Blasphemy Department (CBD) modeled after the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD).

The ruling by the LHC also instructed the Federal Investigation Agency, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, federal and Punjab governments, and the Ministry of the Interior to “identify NGOs that support the publication or uploading of such content under the guise of freedom of expression.”

March 3, 2025 - Comments Off on Police book citizen under PECA for criticising Muslim clerics

Police book citizen under PECA for criticising Muslim clerics

Pakistani police filed a report under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) against a man accused of criticising muslim clerics regarding the start of the religious month of Ramadan/Ramzan. According to Maulana Abdul Ghaffar Quraishi, the imam who brought the situation to the attention of the police, he man, from the region of Mamashkhel in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had allegedly been derogatory on social media, and was also heard to have said that “the moon is of two days and the ulema of Bannu and Pakistan have deprived us (faithful) of the first fast”.

February 25, 2025 - Comments Off on Supreme Court Bar Association, Journalists Call for Repeal of PECA Amendments

Supreme Court Bar Association, Journalists Call for Repeal of PECA Amendments

Senior journalists and members of Pakistan’s legal bar called for the repeal of recent amendments to the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), passing unanimous resolutions at the February 24th 2025 consultative meeting of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) in Islamabad, the nation’s capital. The resolutions, which condemned the passage of  “PECA Amendments 2025” and defended the right to freedom expression were as follows (as per reporting by Express Tribune):

"This consultative meeting condemns and disapproves the PECA (Amendment) Act, 2025, being defective legislation, considering it a violation of Article 19 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to freedom of speech and expression.

"This consultative meeting holds that the PECA (Amendment) Act, 2025, infringes upon the rights of media personnel as protected under Article 19 of the ICCPR, adopted by the United Nations and to which Pakistan is signatory". 

February 24, 2025 - Comments Off on Internet Shutdown in Balochistan During Protest Rallies

Internet Shutdown in Balochistan During Protest Rallies

Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), a human rights organisation based out of Balochistan, has alleged that protests against the killing of Baloch youth have been hampered by authorities and that an internet shutdown had been implemented. The claim by BYC was made on Twitter/X:

“BYC Zehri and general public organized a protest rally. The rally started from Hospital road to Allah wala Chowk. However, the paramilitary forces (FC) and along with death squad members blocked the roads and hampered the rally to proceed forward. The internet was also shutdown in the entire area”, the BYC stated in a post on X.

Though NetBlocks.org have yet to confirm this particular shutdown, the province has been subject to several internet shutdowns by the authorities in the past, with the period beginning July 16  2024  and ending August 21, 2024 lasting for 864 hours. Activists and inhabitants of Balochistan have frequently protested about alleged human rights abuses in the province by the armed forces and authorities.