The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is opposed to the contentious defamation law that the provincial assembly enacted earlier this month, according to Punjab Governor Saleem Haider.
Speaking to the media on Sunday in Dubai, he stated, “I tried to stop the [passage] of the defamation bill as governor.”
His remarks are made one day after Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan, the acting governor of Punjab in Haider’s absence, signed the bill into law.
The Punjab Defamation Bill, 2024 was enacted by the Punjab Assembly on May 20, in the face of a loud and forceful opposition protest and a massive backlash from international human rights organizations and media.
“The bill is not my signature. However, after 15 days, it will automatically become a law.
Nonetheless, he asserts that laws must be passed in order to prevent the defamation of individuals on social media.
In addition, Governor Haider declared that upon his return to the nation, he would meet with the media organizations’ Joint Action Committee (JAC) to discuss their issues.
In an effort to protest the passing of the defamation law, the central Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the media bodies announced one day earlier that they would not be covering government affairs, including official events like sessions of the National Assembly and provincial assemblies, as well as upcoming federal and provincial budgets.
An emergency meeting was called by the Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA), Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), Pakistan Federal Union of Newspaper Editors (CPNE), Pakistan Newspaper Editors Society (APNS), and Association of Electronic Media Editors and News Directors (AEMEND) in order to discuss the development and decided to record their protest against the law
