Media authority bill to be discarded if panel felt dissatisfied, says Senator Faisal Javed

• The government decides to take journalists on board over the proposed PMDA bill.
• The chairman committee sought a briefing from the ministry on the new policy in the next meeting.
• Regulation without restriction, job security of journalists, were the basic driving force behind bringing the PMDA, says Farrukh Habib

ISLAMABAD: Senate Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting Chairman Senator Faisal Javed Tuesday said the panel will reject the Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA) bill if it felt dissatisfied, The News reported.

He made these remarks while presiding over a meeting of the Senate committee at the Parliament House. The meeting decided to take journalists and other stakeholders on board over the proposed PMDA bill.

The meeting agreed to call the journalists and other stakeholders in the next meeting of the standing committee, expected to meet on Thursday

Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib briefed the committee on the Pakistan Media Development Authority.

At the outset of the meeting, the chairman asked the ministry officials as to why they need to bring forward PMDA, as the rights of the journalist can be protected in many other ways, why is this ‘Authority’ needed.

Farrukh Habib informed the committee that to curb the flow of fake news, ensure the job security of journalists, regulation without restriction and create research and training opportunities for the journalist were the basic driving force behind bringing the PMDA.

He said that the standing committee concerned of the National Assembly had already deliberated upon the idea of PDMA and talked with journalists and five major press clubs of the country. Replying to the question of Senator Ali Zafar, Farrukh Habib said that some journalists did raise objections to some points of the ‘Authority’.

He clarified that there will be no physical sentence but only charges will be imposed as a penalty.

Senator Irfan Siddiqui showed discontent with the ministry officials for not having a judge of the ITNE (Implementation Tribunal for Newspapers Employees) for the last 5-6 months to which the secretary of the ministry replied that an interim judge will be appointed in the coming days.

The meeting was also informed about the drafting and approval of the new advertising policy. The chairman committee sought a briefing from the ministry on the new policy in the next meeting and said that the committee will also give its feedback on the new policy; which is not shared with the committee members before its approval.

The forum was also informed about the composition of the ‘Authority’. The briefing showed that the authority will have its chairman and 12 members. Six members will be from private sectors i.e. arts, media and other professions while six members will be each from the four provinces of Pakistan, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan.

Senator Irfan Siddiqui raised eyebrows for not including media professionals in the composition of the ‘Authority’. The chairman committee observed that members of the parliaments should also be made part of it.

The ministry officials apprised the committee that a 14-point pro forma had already been shared with media bodies and that officials of the ministry had also met with CPNE, APNS and PBA on 2 August 2021 on the matter.