ISLAMABAD: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman expressed his dissatisfaction with President Asif Ali Zardari’s approval of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA).
Speaking to the media in Islamabad on Thursday, Rehman criticized the president’s decision, stating, “We were assured one thing, but something entirely different was done.”
He pointed out that Asif Zardari had promised journalist organizations that their recommendations would be taken into account, yet he signed the act the very next day.
Rehman stressed that decisions of such significance should not be made in this manner.
He further revealed that he had personally discussed the PECA Act with the president, who had assured him that Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi would arrive in Islamabad within a day or two to consult journalists and consider their suggestions.
“The government was supposed to deliberate on these proposals, yet I found out the next morning that the president had already signed the act,” he said.
Fazlur Rehman criticized Zardari’s decision, emphasizing that such matters require broader consultation. He added that the concerns of journalists should have been addressed, and all stakeholders should have been involved before finalizing the legislation.
