figure 1. Laws addressed in this report • Section 124 A • Section 295 A • Section 295 C Pakistan Penal • Chapter XXII Code, 1860 General and criminal laws • Defamation Act, 2004 • Prevention of Electronic Crime Act, 2016 • Contempt of Court Act, 2012 • Anti Terrorism Act, 1995 Securityrelated laws Sectoral laws • • The Telegraph Act, 1885 • Pakistan Telecommunications Act, 1996 Other laws – in particular security and terrorism-related laws The main source of case law used for this research is the Pakistan Law Site that curates different decisions of higher courts across Pakistan. Media reports on known cases have also been referred to. Lay of the legal land Legislative system Pakistan has had a turbulent legislative history. In 1948, after independence from the British and partition from the Indian sub-continent, a constituent assembly was formed. The idea was to create a constitution under the Objectives Resolution,10 which held Islamic conjunctions prime. Due to the assassination of the first prime minister, Liaquat Ali Khan, the death of Mohammad Ali Jinnah and the subsequent political turmoil, the first constitution, which declared Pakistan as an Islamic Republic, could not be passed till 1956. The constitution was suspended by the first military dictator, General Yahya Khan, and was replaced by another constitution in 1962, through which the presidential system was introduced in the country. After two other periods of martial law, the parliamentary system was 10 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Objectives_Resolution eventually restored through a new constitution passed by the National Assembly in 1973. The 1973 constitution is the one in effect at the moment. In terms of the larger legal systems and procedures, Pakistan is still operating under British Common Law. The Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) is an adapted version of the 1860 code introduced by the British in colonial India. The code therefore is colonial in nature and tends to treat citizens like subjects. An added complexity in the general legal system is the presence of a parallel system of Islamic jurisprudence. However, for the sake of this study the dual nature of the law is not relevant as the Islamic or Sharia courts have largely been used for matters related to family law. Legislation around freedom of expression The right to freedom of expression is guaranteed through Article 19 of the constitution. The right is not absolute and the constitution allows for some restrictions that have to be prescribed by law. In addition to laws related to restrictions there are also other laws that are used to regulate expression. For the sake of this study we will largely be looking at four kinds of laws: the penal code, criminal laws, general laws and sectoral laws (see Figure 1). Another set of laws that are related to regulating expression are the media laws including the PAKISTAN / 105