The Senate on Friday passed a unanimous resolution, reaffirming its strong commitment to the freedom of press and expression, calling it an article of faith for every democracy. The resolution, passed on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day on May 3, reiterated that access to transparent and reliable information was the cornerstone for building fair and impartial institutions, holding leaders accountable and speaking truth to power.
The senators recognised the fundamental human right of press freedom and paid tribute to the journalists, editors and publishers who risk their lives in defence of the public’s right to know.
They saluted the media martyrs who laid down their lives in the line of duty.
The Senate affirmed its complete solidarity and support to the media workers in their just struggle for security of life and service so that they could perform their professional duties without any hindrance or constraints.
Expressing his views on the floor of the House, Leader of the House Shibli Faraz said it was a very important day for the journalist community, which contributed a lot to the struggle of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). There should be legislation to ensure security of life and employment of journalists, he said, and added
“We should sit down to put in place a mechanism for the security of journalists.”
Senator Usman Kakar said media workers were facing various threats and pressures. Senator Mushahid Hussain said Quaid-i-Azam was the founder of two main newspapers and he once said that he would welcome criticism from the media. Senator Rubina Khalid said media workers faced a lot of difficulties, and added that their heirs should get compensation in case journalists become victims of any accident.
Senator Mushtaq Ahmed said democratic freedoms were prevalent in the country due to long and hard work of journalists.
He said the media had been facing different pressures and not getting enough financial protection. Senator Raza Rabbani said Article 19 of the Constitution gave freedom of speech and expression to every citizen and granted independence of the media. “Restrictions on journalists were a violation of this article.” Senator Sherry Rehman said that in the history of Pakistan, freedom of the press was curbed, which led to a movement by journalists for their independence.
On the other hand, Federal Minister for Energy Omar Ayub Khan on Friday said that the report on any discovery of energy reserves at Kekra-I offshore drilling site will come within three to four weeks.
Speaking during the question hour in Senate, Ayub said that offshore drilling for oil and gas had been underway at Kekra-I site near Karachi.
It should be mentioned here that a delegation of Exxon Mobil informed Omar Ayub Khan in a recent meeting that the company was hopeful of finding energy resources at Kekra-I site.
The delegation was headed by Alex Volkov, chairman of LNG Market Development Exxon Mobil.
Exxon Mobil President Irtiza Syed briefed the minister on the status of offshore drilling at Kekra-I that started in January 2019. He added that Exxon Mobil was also interested in the drilling of more offshore blocks.