The defamation bill was approved by the Punjab governor in 2024.
On Saturday 8th of June 2024, after the Punjab Assembly passed the difficult Punjab Defamation Bill 2024, current Governor Malik Ahmad Khan of Punjab signed it. Details show that after signing the law, current Governor Malik Ahmed Khan forwarded the paper to the Punjab Assembly. Following its formal publication in the government newspaper, the defamation measure will go into effect.
Earlier Sardar Saleem Haider Khan, the governor of Punjab, has already intimated that he might not sign the Defamation Bill 2024 into law and instead return it to the provincial parliament for review. On the other hand, current Governor Malik Ahmed Khan authorized the Defamation Bill 2024 while Governor Saleem Haider was on leave. The journalistic community considered the Defamation Bill 2024 to be nondemocratic and opposed it.
The head of the Lahore Press Club, Arshad Ansari, announced during the press conference that the government had called for a protest in the Punjab Assembly today in response to the Joint Action Committee’s discussion on the Defamation Bill 2024. The head of the Lahore Press Club, Arshad Ansari remembered that the government members had already agreed to bring the Defamation Bill before the assembly today, so there was no chance of reaching an agreement with them.
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He continued by saying that the committee had offered to put off the demonstration and asked the lawmakers to put off the measure for 1 week, but this request had been turned down. The Defamation Bill 2024 has drawn much worry from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), whose chairman has called the bill’s wording and content worrying on multiple features.
Initially, it suggests an alternative framework for resolving defamation cases. According to the statement, HRCP has continuously criticized special identical court institutions because they always violate basic rights and other widely recognized standards that ensure the judiciary operates fairly.
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