April 8, 2025
Staff Report
LAHORE
Lahore Police have registered a cybercrime case against musician and former PTI member Salman Ahmed under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 (PECA) for allegedly sharing content against state institutions and figures online.
Reacting to the case, Salman Ahmed termed the legal action an ‘attempt to control freedom of expression’.
Salman Ahmed, a Pakistani-American, shared a copy of the First Information Report (FIR) on his personal account on social media platform X on Tuesday. In a video posted a day earlier, he accused the Pakistani government of engaging in “transnational repression” against Khan’s supporters. Ironically Ahmed has also been evicted of PTI on the orders of party chief Imran Khan, after he posted content against Bushra Bibi.
The FIR was lodged at Lahore’s Defence A Police Station on April 4 on the complaint of Sub-Inspector Ikram Hussain. It invokes Sections 11 (hate speech) and 20 (offences against dignity of a natural person) of PECA, along with Sections 500 (punishment for defamation), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), and 505-1(C) (statement conducing to public mischief) of the Pakistan Penal Code.
The FIR states that certain “malicious” elements have been using social media to “spread false and defamatory information” about government figures and institutions. “This false campaign is often based on fabricated news and baseless allegations … to mislead the public and create distrust against respected and important institutions and individuals,” it reads.
Hussain alleged that Ahmed’s post on X aimed to “incite against national institutions and personalities.” He wrote that the singer “made a provocative and hateful post on Twitter (now known as X). The profile has about 265.4K followers, to whom this hateful post is being spread,” adding that “the minds of his viewers/followers are being turned against national and government institutions and figures.”
The PTI had terminated Ahmed’s membership in December 2024 after he criticized party founder Imran Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi, for her political activities during the November 26 protests.PECA, enacted in 2016, has been widely condemned as a “black law” used to suppress dissent. Over the past eight years, it has been invoked against politicians, journalists, activists, and ordinary citizens.
In January, the National Assembly passed controversial amendments to cybercrime laws amid protests by PTI lawmakers and journalists. Following the enactment of the amendments, a slew of cases have been registered against journalists including Waheed Murad, Ahmed Noorani, and Farhan Malik, and human rights and social media activists. Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists have slammed the draconian law and held countrywide protests against registration of cases against media workers and journalists. The PFUJ is calling for the repeal of the amended cybercrime law.
Earlier this year, a WhatsApp group admin in Pakpattan was arrested under PECA for allegedly allowing an “insulting” post about Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz.
