This section does not apply to content aired by broadcast media or distribution service licensed under the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority Ordinance, 2002 (XIII of 2002). Unlike Section 499 of the PPC and the Defamation Act 2004, both of which include a strong set of defences, section 20 of PECA 2016 does not offer any kind of defence to the accused. The PPC and the Defamation Act also set a limitation of liability defining the time within which defamation charges can be brought. This limitation is also missing in PECA. The lack of any limitation and defined defences in the law create the possibility of abuse of the law. However, since the law is fairly new, and courts have only recently been notified,38 the case law showing how this section is interpreted and applied is not developed as yet. Hate speech Regulation of hate speech online has been a challenge worldwide. In Pakistan, hate speech has been an issue of serious concern. There is a large presence of terrorist and sectarian organisations online, including Lashkar-e-Jhangvi who have traditionally called out for murder and violence against the minority Shia sect. Hate speech against the Ahmadiya community is also abundant and often includes calls for violence. In addition, accusations of blasphemy online, followed by calls for murder of the accused, are increasingly common and have a very real potential of translating into physical violence. On the other hand, defining hate speech is a challenge. Given the state’s track record of crackdowns against political and ideological dissidents, the likelihood of hate speech laws being misused remains high. Hate speech was traditionally tackled through Section 11W of the ATA. However, PECA 2016 has introduced a specific section criminalising hate speech online. The section states: 11. Hate speech – Whoever prepares or disseminates information, through any information system or device that advances or is likely to advance interfaith, sectarian or racial hatred, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term, which may extend to seven years or with fine or with both. No case law has been developed so far to demonstrate the application and interpretation of this section. During the public consultations with civil society, the Ministry of IT held that this section was being included to make sure that terrorist outfits 38 moit.gov.pk/policies/designatedcourts.pdf and proscribed organisations39 that openly engage in inciting sectarian violence by using hate speech online are brought under the ambit of the law. However, a year after the law was passed, in September 2017, an investigation by the country’s oldest English-language newspaper Dawn40 demonstrated the continued presence and operation of these organisations online. The investigation showed that these organisations “are present on Facebook in the form of hundreds of pages, groups and individual user profiles” and enjoy a collective following of 160,000 people. The investigation also found that the content of these pages largely includes “hate speech directed at religious minorities and other members of society.” One of the outfits that are present and operating on Facebook is the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), a militant organisation that has publicly accepted responsibility for killing members of the Shia community and that openly calls for violence against them. The outfit has been engaged in multiple high-profile incidents of terrorism including the killing of US journalist Daniel Pearl, the killing of Iranian diplomats and an attack on a Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore, Pakistan. Dawn’s investigation found that the group is operating eight pages and groups on Facebook.41 These pages and groups obviously promote the hate-filled ideology of Laskhar-e-Jhangvi and yet there are no cases registered that evoke the hate speech clause against LeJ. In addition to Facebook, the same organisation and its supporters continue to openly distribute fatwas or religious decrees against the Shia sect, calling the murder of Shias jihad or a part of the Holy War.42 The fatwa referred to here calls Shia Muslims “infidels” and says they are “liable to be murdered.” It also pledges to rid the country of this napaak or unclean community by continuing to engage in their murder. The group continues to circulate such decrees online. These obviously come under the definition of hate speech as defined in PECA. However, so far we have not really seen its implementation and not a single case has been brought forth under the section. This lends support to the fear that the sections that criminalise different forms of speech included in PECA are more actively used to clamp 39 nacta.gov.pk/proscribed-organizations 40 Haque, J., & Bashir, U. (2017, 14 September). Banned outfits in Pakistan operate openly on Facebook. Dawn.com. https://www. dawn.com/news/1335561 41 Ibid. 42 Jafria News. (2013, 10 April). Lashkar e Jhangvi Pamphelet Against Shia Community. Jafria News. https://jafrianews. com/2013/04/10/wahabi-clerics-issuing-fatwas-of-sexual-jihadfor-fsa-terrorist-allowing-them-raping-non-sunni-women-in-syria/ lashkar-e-jhangvi-pamphelet-against-shia-community PAKISTAN / 113