ISLAMABAD – The Pakistan Embassy in Washington has rejected a report issued by Human Rights Watch (HRW) claiming that the country was planning to crackdown on freedom of expression through proposed media development authority.
The embassy said that the HRW report is factually incorrect as there is no plan to introduce the regulatory body through ordinance.
HRW in its report said, “The Pakistani government is seeking broad new powers to control the media as part of its crackdown on freedom of expression”.
The embassy in its statement said that the Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA) is under consideration for addressing challenges and requirements for converging media environment of the 21st century to make the country as a major global center for multimedia information and content services.
The government is holding consultations with all the stakeholders over the matter, the embassy said, adding that Islamabad has “no intention to bring an ordinance” in this regard.
Our rejoinder challenging @pagossman assertions in her article on Pakistan Media Authority @hrw pic.twitter.com/kTCtCfcsVs
— Pakistan Embassy US (@PakinUSA) August 25, 2021
It rejected the claim that bill was being kept secret.
The HRW report said that the Pakistani government is seeking broad new powers to control the media as part of its crackdown on freedom of expression.
“The government claims an ordinance setting up the Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA) would replace the fractured’ regulatory environment and fragmented’ media regulations currently in place. The proposed PMDA would bring all media in Pakistan – print, television, radio, films, and digital media – under one regulator,” read the report.
The proposed law would also increase government control by allowing government officials to be appointed to key positions, it said.
The government has kept the final draft of the PMDA law and the entire drafting process secret, raising further apprehensions among the media and civil society groups. The government has undertaken no meaningful consultative process on the law, the report claimed.
