The Punjab Defamation Bill 2024 was published in the Gazette.

The law, which was held by the governor of the PPP, was signed by Acting Governor Malik Ahmed Khan on June 7 and thereafter delivered to the Punjab Assembly.

The Punjab Defamation Bill 2024 has, as per the announcement, been put into effect immediately throughout Punjab.

On social media sites like YouTube, TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, misinformation is a common problem that will be addressed by the law. A defamation lawsuit against people who disseminate “fake news” may be initiated under the measure.

The response of journalists
The press corps opposed the legislation, calling it “non-democratic.”

After the Joint Action Committee meeting on the Defamation Bill 2024, government members called for a protest in the Punjab Assembly, according to Lahore news Club president Arshad Ansari during the news conference.

The committee, he continued, had offered to put off the demonstration and asked the lawmakers to put off the measure for a week, but this request had been denied.

The response of HRCP
In the meantime, the defamation law 2024 has caused the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) great anxiety. According to the chairman of the HRCP, the bill’s wording and content are “troubling on several counts.”

In order to handle defamation cases, it first suggests a different kind of organization. On the grounds that they inevitably violate fundamental rights and other widely acknowledged standards controlling the impartial operation of the judiciary, HRCP has continuously denounced special parallel judicial formations, the statement added.