Pakistani media rights bodies term proposed regulation law ‘draconian’

Media rights groups in Pakistan came together on Wednesday to issue a press release condemning the proposed Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA) as an "unconstitutional and draconian law against the freedom of press".

The All Pakistan Newspaper Society, Council of Press Editors, Pakistan Broadcasters Association, Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists, and Association of Electronic Media Editors and News Editors signed the release, saying the federal government led by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) wanted to tighten control over the media from one platform but "ignores the fact that print, electronic and social media are separate entities each with their own defined features."

They said this move smacks of an authoritarian regime that "should have no place in a democratically elected dispensation."

Earlier in June this year, the same media bodies met and rejected the "proposed PMDA [which] was intended to hinder media freedom and take control over the media by the top information bureaucracy". They likened the PDMA to the then Press and Publications Ordinance 1963, created during Ayub Khan's rule.

If passed, the PMDA will be the only authority responsible for the regulation of print, broadcast and digital media in Pakistan and all previous media regulation laws will be abolished.

According to the draft law, the PMDA will register digital media platforms, monitor and analyse them and monitor that are complying to cyber laws. They will also have the authority to sanction media outlets for violating rules it has set up i.e. it will have tighter control of what digital outlets publish and disseminate.

The PMDA will also monitor revenues generated through online advertisements to ensure there's no tax evasion.

According to the proposal, “This will be a new statutory institution established to regulate films, electronic, print and digital media in Pakistan in the age of meta data, digital and social media, and internet-based content and advertisements.”

Also, it will regulate broadcast and print media as well as films, issuing NOCs for the latter's production. It will have the authority to settle wage disputes.

The Supreme Court will be the only body that can question the PMDA's decisions.

On the other hand, members of the National Assembly and Senate Standing Committees on Information and Broadcasting appreciated the draft PMDA law prepared by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

They expressed the hope that this draft law would not only address the problems of the media workers but also provide protection to the general public against fake and defamatory news.

The meeting was jointly chaired by Senator Faisal Javed and MNA Nasir Khan Musazai in the absence of Latif Javed.