LAHORE: Lahore High Court has been urged to issue directives to Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for submission of its biannual performance reports to Parliament under Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016. Counsel in the matter, Usama Khawar Ghumman said on Wednesday that violation of objective of the enactment of PECA 2016 has endangered a sense of insecurity among the public at large. The petitioner alleged that the FIA has cracked down on the journalists who perform their duty of the “fourth pillar of the state” and refuse to toe the official government line. “These rights are at the heart of democratic ethos of our Constitution. The absence of parliamentary oversight and the FIA refusal to comply with the requirements of the law is resulting in large-scale systematic denial of fundamental rights to a large number of citizens.

Source: Pakistan Today July 03, 2019 10:41 UTC