LAHORE: Acting Governor of Punjab, Malik Ahmad Khan, signed the controversial Punjab Defamation Bill 2024 on Saturday, following its earlier passage by the Punjab Assembly.
According to the media report, Acting Governor Malik Ahmed Khan sent the document to the Punjab Assembly after signing the bill. The defamation bill will become effective once it is officially published in the government gazette.
Punjab Governor Sardar Saleem Haider Khan earlier hinted at not assenting to the Defamation Bill 2024 and sending it back to the provincial assembly for reconsideration.
The governor had said that he would ask the Punjab government to reconsider the bill. Sardar Saleem Haider Khan said that the bill should not have been passed ‘in a hurry’.
Malik Ahmad also said that all stakeholders including the journalist community must have been taken on board before the legislation.
However, the Defamation Bill 2024 was signed by the Acting Governor Malik Ahmed Khan when Governor Saleem Haider was on leave.
