PPP will challenge amendments to Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act: Gilani

Former Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition in Senate Yousuf Raza Gilani on Monday said that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) would challenge the amendments to the social media defamation laws, calling them ‘draconian’ law and an attempt to silence the opposition and media.

He said this while addressing a press conference along with the General Secretary PPP Central Punjab Syed Hassan Murtaza, Secretary Information Shehzad Saeed Cheema and spokesman chairman PPP Zulfiqar Ali Badar at Central Punjab Secretariat.

Gilani said they [the government] are bringing draconian laws because they are scared. “They want to harass the media, civil society and social media activists.”

The Parliament cannot be ignored in any way, Gillani said in reference to the promulgation of the presidential ordinances amending the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, (PECA) 2016, and the Elections Act, 2017.

He said that the government is not calling the meetings of the standing committee under the pretext of Covid-19.

While responding to the question Gilani said that the establishment is neutral. He further said that former President Asif Ali Zardari is taking all political forces into confidence and in this regard, he is also meeting JUI-F Chief Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman and Jamaat-e-Islami Chief Sirajul Haq.

Responding to another question regarding Jahangir Tarin meeting with PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Gilani said that he didn’t know anything about such a meeting. He said all the steps taken by the opposition will be constitutional.

He said that Pakistan People’s Party call for “Awami March” (The people’s march) is for the people who were facing skyrocketing price hikes.

The PPP stalwart said that the opposition is united in the house and outside the house.

Gilani further said that the opposition is united on the one-point agenda of moving no-confidence motion against the government.

He said that Prime Minister Imran Khan had failed to fulfill any commitment made in the election manifesto, adding that the PTI government had snatched the jobs and rendered thousands of people homeless.

He further said that the PTI’s government’s policies are economically making the country weaker and weaker.

He said that the US dollar is on the unprecedented rise against the Pak Rupee, adding that the PTI government failed to control the prices of sugar, flour, edible oil, ghee, resultantly these basic commodities are now out of common people’s reach.

He said that it was a PPP proposal that the opposition should not resign and the people saw that the opposition had won all the by-elections in the country.