Protection DeskNews Alerts
Live updates on risks, policy shifts, and incidents affecting civic space and digital rights.
Journalists Convention rejects PECA as 'Black Law'
At the National Journalists Convention in Islamabad, leading media bodies rejected the 2025 PECA amendments as a 'Black Law', alleging judicial harassment, travel restrictions and use of state advertising to pressure outlets; they demanded case withdrawals and parliamentary review.
SC orders IHC to decide Imaan Mazari plea in two weeks
The Supreme Court ordered the Islamabad High Court to decide within two weeks petitions seeking suspension of sentence filed by Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha, keeping the matter pending until the IHC rules.
PPP human rights cell seeks review of Peca on World Press Freedom Day
The PPP Human Rights Cell has called for a comprehensive review of Peca, saying the law should be aligned with constitutional freedoms and human rights standards. On World Press Freedom Day, National Assembly leaders also issued messages backing free and responsible journalism.
‘Notices, cases, red lines and violence’ put media in a bind
Pakistan’s media is caught in a bind — squeezed simultaneously by legal pressure, physical violence, digital harassment and financial coercion. That is the gist of a recent report, released by the Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) ahead of World Press Freedom Day 2026, documenting at least 233 incidents of journalists being targeted between January 2025 and April 2026.
Pakistan’s Media in a Bind — notices, cases, red lines and continued violence
Between January 2025 and April 2026, Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) has documented at least 233 instances of violence, threats, legal action against journalists, two remarks targeting the media, seven instances of censorship, at least 10 instances of connectivity issues and one cyber attack impacting three broadcast channels.
Pakistan media freedoms face sharp decline
Freedom Network report blames PECA, legal and economic pressures for worsening press freedom and journalist safety.
Pakistan’s New Social Media Authority Starts Work on Strict Rules to Control Online Content
The newly established Social Media Protection and Regulatory Authority (SMPRA) in Pakistan has begun formulating its rules and regulations, marking a key step toward implementing its mandate to regulate digital platforms and online content in the country.
Case filed under PECA: Imaan Mazari moves SC against IHC order
Human rights activist and lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari on Monday approached the Supreme Court of Pakistan against an order of the Islamabad High Court declining to suspend her sentence in a case filed under the Prevention of Electronic Crime Act (PECA), 2016.
Senate body forms subcommittee to examine Peca ‘misuse’
The Senate Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting on Tuesday discussed in detail the issue of extensive lodging of FIRs under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca) and decided to form a subcommittee to examine the matter.
Strategy launched to address online gender-based violence
The Ministry of Human Rights in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme on Friday launched Pakistan’s first national strategy on technology-facilitated gender-based violence, marking an important step toward addressing online harassment and abuse targeting women and girls.
IHC’s Justice Minhas questions what constitutes ‘fake news’ in Peca amendments
Justice Raja Inaam Ameen Minhas of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday questioned the mechanism for determining what constitutes “fake news” in the amended Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca).
Criminalising free speech by Usama Khilji
IF post-2016 were the years when Peca’s misuse against those exercising their right to freedom of speech and press freedom was tested, 2025 was the year when the gaps in the state’s ability to fully abuse the law were filled.