Pakistan lawmaker introduces invoice to penalize criticism of ...

Amjad Ali Khan, a member of Pakistan's ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) birthday party, introduced legislation on Tuesday to make it a criminal offense for someone to intentionally ridicule, bring into disrepute or defame the militia or a member of the defense force. The punishment is imprisonment of up to 2 years or a first-rate that may additionally lengthen 500,000 rupees (around USD $3,000).

"The purpose of this modification is to prevent hatred and disrespectful behavior against the armed forces," reads the bill's remark of rationale. The bill has to move by using a majority within the country wide meeting and the Senate to be able to become legislations. prime Minister Imran Khan is a member of the PTI, but the PTI doesn't have a majority in the Senate.

Ajmad Ali Khan brought the bill shortly after authorities arrested a journalist for being a vocal critic in opposition t the government.  Journalists in Pakistan have criticized his arrest as smartly as the introduction of the bill.  Pakistan nowadays's editorial board wrote, "there needs to be a awareness that criticism can't be silenced via charges" and that the "statute books are already too cluttered with lifeless letters of the legislation to want the burden of any more."

The editorial board additionally claims that, "despite the opposition majority within the Senate the bill cannot be defeated, since the executive can with ease hold a joint session of parliament to flow it, adore it has within the case of FATF legislation."