Lahore police have reserved the musician and former member of PTI SALMAN AHMAD under the 2016 Electronic Crimes Prevention Law (PECA) for allegedly sharing content against state institutions and figures online, it emerged on Monday.
A First Information Report (FIR) was registered at lahore’s defend a police on april 4 on the complaint of sub-inspector ikram hussain under sections 11 (Hate Speech) and 20 (Offences Against Dignity of a Natural Person) of Peca and Sections 500 (Punishment for defamation), 504 Insult with attem for Provoke Breach of the Peace) and 505-1 (C).
The FIR said that some “malicious” elements had been using social networks to “disseminate false and defamatory information about government figures and institutions.
“This false campaign is often based on manufactured news and accusations without foundation … to deceive the public and create distrust against important and important institutions and individuals,” said the FIR.
Hussain said he was informed about a position on X by the singer, that the subinspector claimed that he was aimed to “incite against national institutions and personalities.”
Ahmad “made a provocative and hateful publication on Twitter (now known as X). The profile has about 265.4k followers, whom this hateful publication is extending,” Hussain wrote, and added that “the minds of their spectators/followers are becoming against national and governmental institutions and figures.”
The PTI finished the membership of the musician’s party for executing a campaign against “Imran Khan’s family” in December 2024. Ahmad had published in X to criticize the wife of the founder of the party, Imran, Bushra Bibi, for his political activities during the protests of November 26, generous criticism of the party’s supporters.
Peca, since its introduction in 2016, has been widely criticized as a “black law” created mainly to punish dissent. In the eight years since its promulgation, it has been widely used against politicians, journalists, rights activists and even common political workers.
The National Assembly in January approved a controversial draft amendment to the country’s cyber crime laws in the middle of a strike of legislators and PTI journalists of the procedures.
Earlier this year, the administrator of a WhatsApp group in Pakpattan de Punjab was arrested for allegedly violating Peca by allowing an insulting position addressed to the Prime Minister of Punjab, Maryam Nawaz, was shared in the group.
