The Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) on Sunday expressed concern over the proposed Pakistan Media Regulatory Authority (PMRA) to be formed under a new media law submitted in a Senate committee by the federal government.
In a joint statement, the CPNE leaders, including its President Arif Nizami, senior Vice President Imtinan Shahid and Secretary General Dr Jabbar Khattak, pointed out that the move had caused panic within media circles because the freedom of media, expression and the people’s right to know might be compromised by reinforcing government’s influence over the media on various pretexts under the garb of proposed media law.
The CPNE leaders said that was a deplorable fact that unlike the practice during the previous regimes, the incumbent government had submitted a proposed law on the media for legislation without consulting CPNE and other media associations, which had raised doubt that the government might curb media freedom under the garb of new law.
They reminded the incumbent government that authorities had to annul ill-famed Press and Publications Ordinance introduced during the regime of General Ayub Khan due to the struggle of media associations and civil society activists.
“If authorities still wants to curb media freedom through any black law they are actually mistaken because journalists, media workers, civil society and pro-democracy political workers in Pakistan have the power to get rid of black laws,” they warned.
They advised the government to abandon the mindset of imposing discriminatory, prejudiced and special laws for the media and create an enabling environment by allowing the media to work freely under the normal and ordinary laws.
The leaders of Pakistan’s premier body representing newspapers’ editors announced that the CPNE would shortly come up with its detailed stance after discussing on the proposed law at an upcoming meeting of its standing committee.
Published in Daily Times, October 22nd 2018.