The Pakistani parliament proposed the Pakistan Media Development Authority bill last week, raising concerns among the media fraternity. If enacted, the bill is expected to curb freedom of the press significantly.
According to media leaders, the proposed bill would allow authorities unchecked power to shut down media houses and set up tribunals to penalise journalists and media outlets for publishing content against top military officials, judges, and government leaders. It would also increase government control by allowing officials to be appointed to key positions.
Through the bill, the government seeks to set up the Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA), which would act as a replacement for the country’s “fractured” regulatory environment and “fragmented” media regulations at present. It will be headed by a chairperson appointed by the President and qualified to become a high court judge.
The proposed body would bring all media in Pakistan, including print, television, radio, films, and digital media, under a standard regulator. In addition, it would replace the seven laws currently regulating the press, including the 20-year-old Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), which is a major governing body of the country.
So far, Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government has kept the final draft of the PMDA law and the entire drafting process secret, making the media and civil society groups anxious. Moreover, no meaningful consultative process has been taken to enact the law.
Last Monday, hundreds of media workers, opposition parties, and civil society activists gathered in front of the country’s parliament and the National Press Club building in Islamabad to protest against the proposed law.
During the demonstration, the President of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Shehbaz Sharif, said his party stands by the media. “We will oppose the new law in the Parliament and make sure that it is defeated and the press freedom is not curtailed,” he said.
“We want to make it clear that there can’t be any talks over the PMDA bill or even making another umbrella body or authority under any other name,” read a statement by Shahzada Zulfiqar and Nasir Zaidi, the leaders of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists.
Meanwhile, global rights group Human Rights Watch has condemned the proposed law, saying, “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.” Amnesty International also put out a report regarding the matter on its Twitter page.
EXPLAINER: Pakistan’s Controversial Media Bill
Pakistan has introduced a controversial media bill that journalists and activists say will curb press freedoms.
September 21, 2021
SOURCE: FAROOQ NAEEM/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES