Islamabad: A representative body of Pakistani newspaper editors has flayed the government for trying to “control the press” through the formation of a proposed regulatory authority with punitive clauses.
The Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) rejected the formation of the proposed Press and Publication Regulatory Authority (PPRA), dubbing it as “yet another attempt to control the press” in Pakistan in the name of regulation.
The standing committee of CPNE said that the various punitive clauses in the bill, and the statement of objects and reasons for the bill, go against the principle of press freedom and the self-regulation that the print media has always practised, said Pakistan Online news agency Sunday.
However, Information Minister Muhammad Ali Durrani has dismissed fears that the government was planning to curb the freedom of the press by introducing a press and publications regulatory authority.
Durrani was quoted by the Daily Times as saying: “There is no question of curbing the freedom of the press, as the government firmly believes that a free, responsible, vibrant and independent media is a prerequisite for strengthening democracy in the country.”
After discussing the proposed bill at an emergency meeting on Saturday, CPNE secretary general Wamiq Zubari said the government had not consulted the representatives of press bodies, including the CPNE, on the draft bill.
The meeting declared that the haste shown in the formulation of the legislation and the secrecy maintained by the federal government smacks of “an open attempt to control the print media in the name of regulation”.
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