Draft bill against hate speech filed in PA

Author: Kashif Hussain

LAHORE: A proposed draft of the private members’ bill against hate speech with a demand of creation of an online portal for lodging complaints was filed in the Punjab Assembly Secretariat on Tuesday.

The bill also suggested observing ‘Stop Hate Speech Day’ at provincial level.

The bill was jointly submitted by the 12 members of the Punjab Youth Parliamentary Caucus and PA Peace Committee, including Hina Pervaiz Butt, Irum Hassan Bajwa, Ramesh Singh Arora, Farrah Manzoor, Rafaqat Gujjar, Rana Mannan Khan, Lubna Rehan, Muhammad Arshed, Faiza Mailk, Khurram Jahangir Wattoo, Nabila Hakim and Asif Mehmood, with hope that it would be tabled in the House in upcoming session on the Private Members’ Day.

The bill titled ‘The Punjab Prohibition of Hate Speech Bill 2016’ advocates for peace building in the province by effective legislation against extremism, sectarianism, intolerance and terrorism following the line of the National Action Plan (NAP).

It states that the NAP calls for stern actions against publication of material that propagates hatred and decapitation, and it is thus necessary in the public interest to strengthen implementation of various laws pertaining to hate speech across the province.

The bill proposes developing a manual on definition and intricacies of hate speech, and that the manual will contain instructions to the general public on how to institute a complaint with police.

It says that all government departments and institutions, including schools and the Punjab Assembly shall mark ‘Stop Hate Speech Day’ by raising awareness towards curtailment of hate speech across the board.

According to the draft of the bill, it shall be mandatory for the Punjab inspector general of police (IG), through the Home Department, to submit a detailed quarterly report before the Punjab Assembly on cases registered under the hate speech offences with the details of most frequent victims as well as perpetrators of hate speech along with details of their religion, sect and ethnicity.

“As well as the details of the number of cases against members of proscribed organisations or their offshoots and the number of successful convictions under the offences should be provided to the assembly. In the case of failure of the IG to present a report, the PA speaker may send a reference with his recommendations to minister concerned for appropriate action against him.”

Pertinent to mention here is that the Punjab Assembly Peace Committee is a dedicated forum under the umbrella of the Punjab Youth Parliamentary Caucus striving for peace building in Punjab, and the said bill is drafted with the assistance and cooperation of the Bargad, a non-governmental organisation.