PEMRA Amendment Bill 2023 has been prepared to protect the rights of media workers: Marriyum Aurangzeb

ISLAMABAD, July 22 (SABAH): Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb says Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) Amendment Bill 2023 has been prepared to protect the rights of media workers and lay the foundation of a responsible media.

Addressing a news conference in Islamabad on Saturday, Marriyum Aurangzeb said the bill laid in the National Assembly the other day was crafted after detailed consultations of eleven months with the relevant stakeholders and keeping in view the best international practices. She said it is not the government’s bill but that of the media and the people of Pakistan.

She pointed out that at present 140 channels of variant nature including that of news and current affairs, entertainment, health and agriculture, education and specialized subjects are operating in the country. She said this diversification in media necessitated the preparation of the bill.

Marriyum Aurangzeb said the bill differentiates between misinformation and disinformation. She said this has been done after studying the relevant laws of various countries including that of the European Union, UK, Malaysia, India and others. She said the bill envisages a complete mechanism to determine between misinformation and disinformation.

The Information Minister said it is the first time that content of Children and timely payment of salaries, not later than two months, has been added to the bill’s preamble. She said it is also the first time that media stakeholders have been given representation in the PEMRA.

The Information Minister under the bill, the working journalists can now also lodge complaints with the Council of Complaints on any issue faced by them.

Meanwhile in a statement issued on twitter on Saturday, Marriyum Aurangzeb said that she was pleased that the NA Standing Committee for Information and Broadcasting passed the PEMRA (Amendment) Bill 2023, which she had laid in the National Assembly.

“The Bill was approved by the Committee after a comprehensive discussion between the Committee members and I” she said.

The minister said that the Bill was prepared after extensive consultations with all stakeholders who are part of the Joint Action Committee (PFUJ, PBA, AMEND, CPNE, and APNS) over the course of the last one year. All stakeholders were taken on board, and their inputs and feedbacks were incorporated into the Bill. The Bill was finalised and laid after sign-off from and ownership by all stakeholders.

“I would like to thank the Joint Action Committee for their active participation, time, effort and valuable input in preparing this Bill” Marriyum Aruangzeb said.

She said that the primary objective of the Bill is to improve the welfare of journalists, and enable a free, responsible and ethical media environment in Pakistan, as practice in democratic countries around the world. She said that the Bill addresses various important long-standing issues and matters including arbitrary, unchecked concentrated powers of Chairman PEMRA, lack of representation of PFUJ and PBA in PEMRA Authority and the Council of Complaints, delayed payments of journalists’ salaries, and the definitions of misinformation and disinformation.