ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting on Tuesday unanimously passed the Motion Picture (Amendment) Bill, 2024 and decided to form a sub-committee to examine concerns over the registration of FIRs under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) by provincial police authorities.
The meeting was presided over by Senator Sarmad Ali.
Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar attended the session along with Senators Jan Muhammad Buledi, Syed Waqar Mehdi, and Mohammad Abdul Qadir, while Senator Pervaiz Rashid joined via Zoom.
During the meeting, the committee approved the Motion Picture (Amendment) Bill, 2024 after a brief discussion. The Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting informed the committee that all five recommendations previously made by the panel had been incorporated into the bill. These included amendments to Section 6(2), Section 7, Section 9 related to the formation of the Appellate Committee, as well as Sections 13 and 15.
The committee also considered a private member’s bill titled the Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2025, introduced by Senator Mohammad Abdul Qadir. The bill seeks to include a Member of Parliament on the Board of Directors of the Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation. However, the committee deferred the matter to allow further consultation with the Finance Division and the Law and Justice Division.
Meanwhile, Senator Syed Waqar Mehdi raised concerns regarding the registration of FIRs under PECA by provincial police authorities instead of the designated authority. Following discussion, the committee decided to summon the Inspectors General of Police and the Advocate Generals of all provinces to deliberate on the matter and constituted a sub-committee to examine the issue in detail.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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