Islamabad [Pakistan], May 31 (ANI): A popular news anchor in Pakistan has been taken off the air for three days after he spoke against the rising curbs on freedom of expression in the country.
ISLAMABAD (AP) A Pakistani television station Monday took a prominent journalist off air, removing him as host of a popular talk show after he criticized the country’s powerful military, the journalist and rights groups said.
May 31, 2021
The Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) is alarmed by and concerned about the proposed Pakistan Media Development Authority Ordinance (2021) proposed by the Government of Pakistan, that seeks to centralize all media regulatory structures in Pakistan and create a ‘converged’ regulatory authority. This proposed ordinance will have a devastating effect on free speech and press freedom in Pakistan and all efforts in this direction must cease immediately.
In a country where the media already functions within a restrictive environment, with a limited space for free expression, the proposed centralization of regulatory structures will lead to further control of the media and further shrink the space for media freedom. PPF believes this proposed ordinance will grant the authorities tools to further control the media narrative and undermine the media’s ability to provide free and independent coverage.
Several laws impacting the media sector are in the works. Some, like the Sindh Protection of Journalists and other Media Practitioners Bill, 2021, have been seen as a step in the right direction since official safeguards for the media fraternity are highly necessary, as seen by the recent attacks on journalists. Other bills, however, have earned criticism from media and human rights bodies as being over-regulatory and harmful to free media.
The Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA) Ordinance, 2021 is the latter. The proposed law has been rejected by the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) and Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) as being “draconian in scope and devastating in its impact on the constitutional principles and guarantees for freedom of expression, media freedoms, and the right to information.