Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The Standing Committee of the Council of Pakistan Newspapers Editors (CPNE) has discussed matters regarding issues of the newspapers, current situation in the country and problems being faced by editors.

The meeting, held in a local hotel here, was attended by CPNE President Zia Shahid, Secretary General Ejazul Haq, Mujeebur Rehman Shami, Jameel Ather Qazi, Irfan Ather Qazi, Imitiaz Alam, Dr Jabbar Khattak, Mehtab Khan, Wamiq Zubairi, Mumtaz Tahir, Nadeem Chaudhry as well as other editors.

The Right to Information Bill was discussed and the reservations of the editors were conveyed to Principal Information Officer Rao Tahseen Ali Khan who assured the editors that the government would pass the bill after consultation with them. He said that the bill would provide a protective shield to editors and journalists.

He informed the meeting that under the bill, a commission would be devised that would help in resolving controversial issues of the newspapers and the journalists. On this gesture of assurance, Zia Shahid thanked the government and said that the media and democracy were integral parts of each other. “Media should never become a part of any conspiracy,” he said.

“The print media was foreseeing trouble soon after a report published in Dawn newspaper. We should try to resolve this issue rather than sitting idly,” said Jameel Athar, former CPNE president. On the occasion, Mujeeb ur Rehman Shami said that attempts have been made in the past to use the media. But “we should ensure balance between freedom of media and code of conduct,” he said.

During the meeting, Imtiaz Alam, Mumtaz Tahir, Dr Jabbar, Wamiq Zubairi and Ejazul Haq also expressed their views. The issues of security to journalists, advertisement policy for the print media, obtaining a plot for CPNE and matters of the press counsel were also debated in the meeting.