Media fraternity cries foul over proposed media laws; calls it attempt to take state control

The Pakistan government plans to establish a single body--the Pakistan Media Development Authority--what it says to replace the existing “fractured” and “fragmented” regulatory environment.

Pakistan’s ministry of information and broadcasting has also constituted a five-member committee to consult with other stakeholders. However, the country’s media is far from digesting this explanation.

Condemning the proposal, a statement issued by the Pakistan Broadcasting Association (PBA)  said the state was "aimed against the freedom of press and expression" and a step towards imposing state control over media operations, reported Dawn.

“The proposed PMDA is intended to hinder media freedoms and take control (of) the media by the top information bureaucracy," the statement read.

It further added, "The concept is an attempt to tighten (the) federal government's hold over the media through one draconian authority ignoring the fact that print, electronic and digital media `are separate entities, each with their own defined features and respective regulatory laws."

The media fraternity has resolved to resist the changes.

Under the new proposed laws, the authority plans to govern all three media spaces--print, digital, and broadcasting - through a single body. No other institution, other than the country’s supreme court, would have any jurisdiction to interference with the decisions of the newly proposed body.

Journalists and media houses in Pakistan often come under attacks and pressure by the country’s infamous deep state (read ISI). Critical new channels are often taken off the air by the government, and owners are jailed for framed charges.

Just days earlier, Hamid Mir, one of the most well known TV anchors in Pakistan, was taken off air for calling out the country’s establishment a day after an attack on a digital journalist.

The undeclared censorship, as many journalists are calling it, will be institutionalized if the new laws come into effect, effectively killing any scope of critical voices that the country needs now more than ever, independent observers said.