With sweeping controls on social media, Pakistan criminalises disinformation with 3-year jail term

Pakistan criminalised online disinformation on Tuesday, passing legislation that enshrines punishments of up to three years in prison, a decision journalists say is designed to crack down on dissent.

The law targets anyone who "intentionally disseminates" information online that they have "reason to believe to be false or fake and likely to cause or create a sense of fear, panic or disorder or unrest".

The law was rushed through the National Assembly with little warning last week before being approved by the Senate on Tuesday as journalists walked out of the gallery in protest.

Senior journalist Asif Bashir Chaudhry, a member of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists, told AFP the government had assured reporters they would be consulted but said they were "betrayed and backstabbed".

"We genuinely wanted a law against misinformation, but if it's not being done through open discussion but rather through fear and coercion, we will challenge it on every available platform," Chaudhry said.

"Even under dictatorships, legislation was not forcefully rammed through parliament the way this government is doing now."

The bill will now be passed to the president to be rubber-stamped.

Analysts say the government is struggling with legitimacy after an election plagued with rigging allegations and with Pakistan's most popular politician, former prime minister Imran Khan, in jail on a slew of corruption charges his party says are politically motivated.

Khan's supporters and senior leaders have also faced a severe crackdown, with thousands rounded up.

Social media site X has been shut down in the wake of elections last February, as posts alleging vote tampering spread on the platform.

Khan's name is censored from television and editors have reported increasing monitoring of their programming.

Senator Syed Shibli Faraz, a member of Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, called the new law "highly undemocratic" and said it would "fuel the political victimisation" of their activists.

However, government minister Tanveer Hussain said that the bill would focus on policing social media.

"I am sure that in the future, the anarchy caused in society through social media will be controlled," he said.

There has been a proliferation of "disinformation" laws, including criminal legislation, worldwide in the past decade enabling governments to control speech online and police "fake news", according to human rights organisation Article 19.

Such laws can impede journalism, according to the group, which promotes freedom of expression and information globally.