Senate Approves Amendments to PECA and Criminal Laws

ISLAMABAD: The Senate on Tuesday passed amendments to the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) along with changes to criminal laws, introducing stricter penalties and new regulatory measures.

Under the PECA amendment bill, the federal government will enter into Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties (MLATs) with countries whose social media applications are used in Pakistan. The move aims to improve cooperation in addressing online crimes and digital offenses.

The Senate also approved amendments to criminal laws, including provisions related to sexual assault cases. According to the new legislation, failure to conduct a medical examination of a rape victim — whether male or female — could result in up to one year of imprisonment and a fine.

Additionally, both public and private hospitals may face penalties if they fail to provide immediate first aid to rape victims. Private hospitals will be legally required to refer rape victims to a government hospital within 24 hours.

The upper house further passed amendments to the Electronic Crimes Act, increasing the punishment for child pornography offenses from seven years to 10 years in prison. The fine for such crimes has also been raised from Rs5 million to Rs10 million.

The Senate also approved Samina Zehri’s Family Court Amendment Bill and Sherry Rehman’s bill banning plastic covers on books in Islamabad.