A meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting was held on Tuesday at the Old PIPS Hall, Parliament Lodges, Islamabad, on the requisition of members.
The members present unanimously nominated Senator Sarmad Ali to preside over the proceedings.
The Committee unanimously passed “The Motion Picture (Amendment) Bill, 2024” introduced by Murtaza Solangi, the then Minister for Information and Broadcasting, after a brief discussion.
The Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, informed the Committee that all five recommendations made by the Committee had been incorporated in the Bill, including amendments in Section 6(2), Section 7, Section 9 (formation of the Appellate Committee), Section 13, and Section 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 matter was deferred until further discussion with the Finance Division and the Law and Justice Division. The primary objective of the bill is to include a Member of Parliament as part of the Board of Directors.
During the meeting, Senator Syed Waqar Mehdi raised an earlier matter regarding the registration of FIRs under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) by provincial police authorities instead of the designated authority. In this regard, the Committee decided to summon the Inspectors General of Police and the Advocate Generals of all provinces to deliberate on the issue. After a detailed discussion, the Committee also decided to constitute a Sub-Committee to examine the matter in detail.
The meeting was attended by Senators Jan Muhammad Buledi and Syed Waqar Mehdi. Senator Pervaiz Rashid joined the meeting via Zoom link. Senator Mohammad Abdul Qadir, as the mover of a bill, also attended the meeting. Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Attaullah Tarar, was also present.