KARACHI: Representatives of media publishers, journalists, broadcasters, editors, and news directors have rejected the Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA) Ordinance.
According to the sources, media organizations have called the proposed ordinance unconstitutional and a strict law against freedom of the press and expression. Under an ordinance drafted for the establishment of the authority, all previous laws pertaining to media regulation, control or indirect control will likely be abolished and fresh legislation will be enacted, giving legal cover to the PMDA and its functions.
This means that according to the proposal, the PMDA solely will be responsible for the regulation of print, broadcast, and digital media in Pakistan.
All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS), Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA), Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE), Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ, Barna Group), A joint meeting of the PFUJ (Constitution Group) and the Association of Electronic, Media Editors and News Directors (AEMEND) agreed that the proposed PMDA was aimed at curbing media freedom and information bureaucracy and gaining control of the media through it.
According to a press release issued by Dr. Tanveer A. Tahir, Executive Director, APNS, the joint statement said that the federal government wants to tighten its grip on the media while ignoring the fact that print, digital And electronic media has many different features.
He added that print, digital and electric have their own characteristics and relevant regulatory rules. Journalists’ organizations said the move was in fact an extension of the Ayub Khan-era Press and Publication Ordinance 1963 (PPO) to gain control of independent media. He said that such a proposed law has no place in a democratic country.
