Tag: Pakistan Media Development Authority

  • Ministry of Information to form joint committee for media authority bill

    Ministry of Information to form joint committee for media authority bill

    The Ministry of Information has decided to form a joint committee after consultations with representatives of all media institutions and organisations.

    The committee will review the proposed media regulation and make recommendations. The Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA) has apparently been postponed for the time being.

    Journalists staged a protest in front of the Parliament House against the proposed PMDA, which aims to muzzle media freedom. The protest started on Sunday, September 12. Journalists marched from the National Press Club to the Parliament House and stayed overnight.

    As journalists continued with sit-in outside of the Parliament House against the government’s proposed PMDA, prominent leaders from political parties, student unions, and members of the civil society also joined in to show solidarity.

    In a first in Pakistan’s history, reporters were not allowed to enter a joint session of Parliament on Monday, September 13.

    Parliamentary reporters were to be present in the press gallery for President Alvi’s address but entered the hallway to find that the door was locked. The press gallery was closed for the journalists.

    The Parliamentary Reporters Association (PRA) strongly condemned the closure of the press gallery and said, “Closing the gallery is the worst dictatorship.”

    However, National Assembly (NA) Speaker Asad Qaiser said that he closed the doors of the press gallery during the president’s speech to a joint session of parliament after getting ‘reports’ that there was a possibility of a ruckus between two journalists’ groups.

    The Speaker claimed that he made this decision after consulting the PRA.

    “I couldn’t afford a fight between two groups in Parliament which could have resulted in the disrespect of media and the House,” Qaiser said adding, “however, there was some misunderstanding.”

  • Politicians, civil society unite with journalists, support protest against media authority bill

    Politicians, civil society unite with journalists, support protest against media authority bill

    As journalists continue with sit-in outside of the Parliament House, against the government’s proposed Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA), prominent leaders from political parties, student unions, and members of the civil society also joined in to show solidarity.

    The protest began on Sunday and is said to continue until President Dr Arif Alvi’s address to the joint session of parliament on Monday.

    Former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Information Sec­retary Marriyum Aurangzeb, and MNA Mohsin Dawar, among others, visited the protest site on Sunday night to extend their support.

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president, Shehbaz Sharif speaking on the media authority bill termed it as “black law” and expressed solidarity with journalists. He said the media had fought a war for its freedom and no one could snatch it. 

    https://twitter.com/pmln_org/status/1437373043542736902

    “The government doesn’t have the guts to pass it and we won’t allow it,” added Shehbaz warning the government against passing the “black law” or bear the consequences.

    He tweeted in solidarity with the protestors and said, “PTI government is demolishing every institution that represents democracy. We support journalists in their struggle against PMDA.”

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Monday slammed the Pakistan Media Regulatory Authority (PMDA), saying that the proposed bill is an “attack on the freedom of media and judiciary.”

    The PPP chairman vowed his party will not let the government get away with snatching livelihoods from the masses. He showed solidarity with journalists who have been attacked, saying that the PPP “will not be satisfied till they [journalists] are not satisfied.”

    “Even if they manage to have this black law passed, journalists will [struggle to] have it abolished,” he added.

    Bilawal warned the government that if it tried to have the PMDA law passed via force, the PPP will challenge it in the courts. The PPP chairman said he feared the government will try to pass the bill during a joint sitting of the Parliament.

    Bilawal said his party will attend the joint sitting of the Parliament with a two-point agenda; to advocate for the rights of 20,000 government employees who were sacked and to campaign for freedom of speech.

    PPP leaders, Senator Sherry Rehman and Raza Rabbani, visited the protest camp and addressed the protesters.

    “We have repealed all the ordinance regarding media censorship, whether it was Ayub Khan or Zia-Ul-Haq. This is why the government won’t bring this on the Parliament floor because we will repeal the PMDA bill and they are scared”

    Marriyum Aurangzeb, along with PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal, also visited the protest site on Monday.

    Addressing the protesters, Iqbal criticised the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government for “attacking and attempting to muzzle” the media.

    Referring to the PMDA bill, he called it a “conspiracy” and said if the bill was passed, “democracy will die in this country”.

  • Moonis Elahi meets Bilawal Bhutto, discuss political situation

    Moonis Elahi meets Bilawal Bhutto, discuss political situation

    Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leader and Federal Minister for Water Resources Chaudhry Moonis Elahi on Sunday met Chairman Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari at Zardari House in Islamabad.

    The PPP Media Office issued a brief statement after the meeting, stating that the two leaders “discussed the overall political situation in the country”.

    The statement said the two leaders also discussed issues relating to water distribution among the provinces and the historic water shortage in Sindh.

    Bilawal also inquired about the health of Elahi’s uncle and party president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain. PPP Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar was also present during the meeting.

    The meeting between the two leaders took place a day before the president’s address to a joint sitting of parliament.

    In June, Punjab Assembly Speaker and PML-Q leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi had a meeting with former president Asif Ali Zardari in Lahore.

    During the meeting, both leaders discussed matters of mutual interest and the national political scene.

  • ‘Army chief agrees fake news, disinformation a threat to national security’: Fawad

    ‘Army chief agrees fake news, disinformation a threat to national security’: Fawad

    Federal Minister for information and Broadcasting, Fawad Chaudhry took to Twitter and said, “Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa, while addressing the Defence Day function, said fake news and disinformation were a threat to national security.”

    Fawad wrote, “This analysis is based on the truth, and therefore the Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA) is being brought to deal with these threats, as yellow journalism happens to be the biggest threat to freedom of media.”

    Representatives of media organisations rejected the proposed PMDA and termed the concept as an unconstitutional and draconian law against the freedom of press and expression and a step toward imposing state control to regulate all segments of media under over-centralised body.

    The Human Rights Watch (HRW) in a statement said that as part of its crackdown on freedom of expression, the government of Pakistan is seeking broad new powers in the garb of the proposed PMDA.

    Information Minister faced a hard time as members of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting demanded to see the draft law of PMDA.

    Spokesperson of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Marriyum Aurangzeb, demanded that the draft of the law should be presented for the establishment of the authority instead of a verbal briefing by the minister.

    Adding to her point, Aurangzeb said, “The attitude of the information minister was dictatorial.”

    However, Fawad Chaudhry said that some people did not want to have any regulations in the media industry, adding that Pakistan cannot turn a blind eye to conspiracies being formulated against it.

  • PMDA: Why all the secrecy?

    PMDA: Why all the secrecy?

    The mystery shrouding the elusive proposed draft of the Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA) is quite intriguing. Some consultations have been held with journalists, civil society members, and parliamentarians but without a copy of the proposed draft. Members of the National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting on Thursday demanded that the draft be shared instead of verbal briefings by the Information Ministry. Chairman of the NA standing committee Mian Javed Latif then formed a sub-committee, which will be headed by Marriyum Aurangzeb with Nafisa Shah and Kanwal Shozab as its members. Let’s see if the proposed draft will now be shared with the sub-committee. 

    Last month, representatives of media organisations issued a joint statement that rejected the proposed media authority. They said that it was unconstitutional and deemed it as a draconian law. It seems that this is yet another tactic by the government to curb media freedom. Human Rights Watch (HRW) recently also issued a statement on the PMDA saying that the Pakistani government is “seeking broad new powers to control the media as part of its crackdown on freedom of expression. Journalists, human rights activists, and political leaders across that country have raised the alarm about proposed legislation that would bolster powers of the government to censor and restrict the media.” The government reacted to HRW’s statement by issuing a rejoinder through the Pakistan Embassy in the US challenging the human rights organisation’s assertions on PMDA. Patricia Gossman, HRW’s associate director for the Asia division, asked for a draft, which has so far not been shared with anyone. 

    It is quite worrying that in a country where media freedom is already quite curtailed, where interviews have been stopped from going on air or stopped mid-way, where anchors have been taken off-air, where there are now so many red lines that media organisations have to tread very carefully, where attacks on journalists have become frequent and culprits are still at large, where online trolling of journalists has become a norm, where the government issues reports of social media trends and hashtags it deems anti-state, where government officials keep on targeting journalists and media organisations without any shred of evidence, a new media authority with immense powers is being proposed without sharing the details of the proposed law and/or taking the main stakeholders on board.

    We hope that the government will share the proposed draft with all stakeholders so that the mystery shrouding this media authority ends once and for all. There is already a lot of mistrust between the government and the media. We hope the government will listen to the legitimate concerns of media organisations and not dismiss them. A free and independent media is essential for any democracy. Pakistan is a democracy and we hope the government will not undermine it in any way. 

  • Fawad Chaudhry faces backlash, NA members demand draft of proposed media authority

    Fawad Chaudhry faces backlash, NA members demand draft of proposed media authority

    Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry faced a hard time in the committee as members demanded to see the draft law of the Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA), reported Kalbe Ali for Dawn.

    Spokesperson of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Marriyum Aurangzeb, demanded that the draft of the law should be presented for the establishment of the authority instead of a verbal briefing by the minister.

    Adding to her point, Aurangzeb said, “The attitude of the information minister was dictatorial.”

    Fawad Chaudhry said that some people did not want to have any regulations in the media industry, adding that Pakistan cannot turn a blind eye to conspiracies being formulated against it.

    “It is important to regulate the media,” the minister said, adding: “We have studied the laws of the United Kingdom (UK), India, Australia, Singapore, and European nations before formulating the draft PMDA law.”

    “But most of all, there will be no compromise over the rights of media workers and against floating of fake news and there was a severe pressure against the Authority regarding these two things,” said Fawad.

    After reflection on the proposed PMDA, the chairman of the committee PML-N’s Mian Javed Latif decided to form a subcommittee, which will be headed by Aurangzeb with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Kanwal Shauzab and Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) Nafisa Shah as its members.

  • Fawad blasts Opposition for criticising the new media authority bill without reading it

    Fawad blasts Opposition for criticising the new media authority bill without reading it

    Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry took to Twitter to lash out at the Opposition stating that President Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Shehbaz Sharif and Chairperson Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto “have not read a word of election reform and Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA) nor do they know what the proposals are.”

    “Our Opposition has only one role, to unite with the anti-government satan,” added Fawad.

     Shehbaz Sharif on Monday vowed to go against any government efforts to pass legislation related to the media.

    Shehbaz Sharif said no party in parliament will support this “black law” except for the government.

    “We will join forces with all political parties […] and take Opposition into confidence against this black law,” Shehbaz said, adding: “This is a matter of life and death for independent journalism, democracy, and constitutional freedom.”

    “If any other government had imposed such restrictions, it would have been overthrown,” said Shehbaz.

    Bilawal Bhutto also criticised the government for the proposed bill. He said, “We like it when Human Rights Watch (HRW) writes about injustice in Indian occupied Kashmir but go silent when it’s about Pakistan.”

    Taking a jibe at the government for its double standards, Bilawal added, “Human Rights Watch statement on PMDA legislation to silence Pakistan media must be read and this black law should be rejected as its against the freedom of speech in the country.”

  • Govt seeking new powers to control media by setting up PMDA: Human Rights Watch

    Govt seeking new powers to control media by setting up PMDA: Human Rights Watch

    As part of its crackdown on freedom of expression, the government is seeking broad new powers in the garb of the proposed Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA), says Human Rights Watch (HRW).

    “The government claims an ordinance setting up the Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA) would replace the ‘fractured’ regulatory environment and fragmented media regulations currently in place. The proposed PMDA would bring all media in Pakistan – print, television, radio, films, and digital media – under one regulator,” HRW said in its statement.

    The PMDA law would grant new unchecked powers to the government-controlled regulator by setting up special “media tribunals” that will have the power to impose steep fines for media organisations and journalists who violate its code of conduct or publish content it deems to be “fake news”.

    The proposed law would also increase government control by allowing government officials to be appointed to key positions.

    With journalists under relentless attack for doing their jobs, the Pakistan government needs to stop trying to control reporters and instead start protecting media freedom, added HRW.

    Earlier this month, the representatives of media organisations rejected the proposed PMDA and termed the concept as an unconstitutional and draconian law against freedom of press and expression and a step toward imposing state control to regulate all segments of media under over-centralised body.

    The major stakeholders believe that the proposed PMDA is an attempt to tighten the government’s control over the media from one platform and ignores the fact that print, electronic and social media are separate entities, each with their own defined features.

  • Journalists reject government media bill, call it unconstitutional

    Journalists reject government media bill, call it unconstitutional

    The representatives of media organisations have rejected the proposed Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA) and termed the concept as an unconstitutional and draconian law against the freedom of press and expression and a step toward imposing state control to regulate all segments of media under over-centralised body.

    The major stakeholders believe that the proposed PMDA is an attempt to tighten the government’s control over the media from one platform and ignores the fact that print, electronic and social media are separate entities, each with their own defined features.

    A joint meeting of the members of the Standing Committee of National Assembly and Senate on Information and Broadcasting was held on August 11.

    Talking to The Current, Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar said that a joint meeting of the Standing Committees on Information of both Houses — Senate and National Assembly— had been called by the Information Ministry to discuss the proposed media authority bill.

    “PML-N had boycotted the meeting as it was being held at the Information Ministry instead of Parliament House. When I went to the meeting, I raised some legal and constitutional points regarding the meeting,” said Khokhar.

    “I asked the government for signed permission by Chairman Senate and Speaker National Assembly as it is required by law if such meetings are called outside parliament. The government could only produce a permission letter from Chairman Senate but not Speaker National Assembly. So I raised the point that this meeting is illegal,” said Khokhar.

    “I also pointed out that since Mian Javed Latif, who is the chair of the NA Standing Committee on Information, is not present due to PML-N’s boycott, the NA Standing Committee cannot be part of this meeting. I was overruled by the government. Thus, the PPP also decided to boycott the briefing,” added Senator Khokhar.

    The agenda before the Committee was one of a comprehensive briefing on the proposed PMDA by the Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry.

    As per the last known draft, the PDMA has been described in the Ordinance as “an independent, efficient, effective and transparent” Authority, which will regulate all forms of media, including digital media.

    Under the Ordinance, print and digital media will also need a license to establish and operate in the country.

    The draft describes digital media as online newspapers, web TV channels, OTT content platforms, online news channels, video logs, and YouTube channels, Netflix, Amazon Prime.

    As per the drafted Ordinance, the government could issue directives to the Authority on matters of policy, and such directives will be binding on the Authority.

    For a media organisation to operate in the country, it will be required to not broadcast, distribute or make available online any programme inciting violence or hatred or any action prejudicial to maintenance of law and order or content which defames or brings into ridicule the Head of State, or members of the armed forces, or legislative or judicial organs of the state or is obscene or vulgar.

    As per the draft, the president will set up media tribunals. An aggrieved person can file an appeal with the media tribunal within 30 days. Only the Supreme Court will have jurisdiction to question the legality of a decision taken by the media tribunals.