Report on issues of Pakistani journalists during last 10 years issued

ISLAMABAD, Dec 06 (SABAH): Report on issues faced by Pakistani journalists during this last decade has been issued on Tuesday. This report was issued in accordance with United Nations 10 years Plan of Action and presented to Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif which was approved by him.

In connection with this an event was organized by Journalist Safety Forum at Islamabad. Addressing the event, Chairperson Journalist Safety Forum and senior anchorperson Hamid Mir proposed that the federal and Sindh governments must notify the safety commissions under the laws passed by the National Assembly and stressed passage of similar laws for the journalists of Khyber Pukhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Punjab.

He demanded immediate removal of the Section 6 from the Federal Journalists Safety Law, which acts as a pre-qualifier for journalist before benefiting from the law, and pointed out that it was mysteriously added to the final draft bill without bringing into the knowledge of journalists.

He called for taking journalists out of the purview of online expression through laws such as (Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) or other regulations and emphasized support by the federal and provincial governments against attacks, intimidation and harassment of women journalists. The event was attended by journalists, human rights experts and representatives of national and international organizations.

Later in the day Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in a statement said that “at Islamabad Journalist Safety Forum today, I highlighted steps taken by the government to ensure media freedom. In Asia, Pakistan has performed very well on the UN Plan of Action. I shared the resolve to fully implement the Protection of Journalists & Media Professionals Act.”

Responding the tweet of PM Shehbaz Sharif, senior journalist and anchorperson Hamid Mir wrote on twitter “Thanks very much Prime Minister for attending seminar on journalists safety, thanks for mentioning #ArshadSharif in your speech today and for making commitment to implement Journalists Safety Bill and forming a commission to follow the crimes against journalists PressFreedom”.