Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Saturday stood in favor of an upcoming law that awarded up to five years in jail over defaming Pakistan Army and judiciary.
Mr Abbasi said there was “some limit” to defaming someone adding everywhere in the world there was a defamation law and this did not happen that anyone came up willy-nilly and said whatever they wanted.
Titled Criminal Laws Act 2023, a draft bill would be presented in the assembly soon which suggested amendments to the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and Code Criminal Procedure (CrPc). A new section 500A titled “Intentional ridiculing or scandalizing of the state institutions etc.” had been proposed after section 500 in PPC 1860.
It said that whoever made, published, circulated any statement or disseminated information, through any medium, with an intention to ridicule or scandalise the judiciary, the armed forces or any of their member would be guilty of an offence punishable with simple imprisonment for a term which might extend to five years or with a fine which might extend to Rs1 million or with both.
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On the other hand, it had been mandatory in the section 196 of the CrPc for law enforcers to get prior approval of the federal government before launching the case or registering a first information report (FIR) against anyone to avoid misuse of the section.