Journalists’ working conditions: Supreme Court seeks reply from government

ISLAMABAD: The apex court has sought a reply from the federal government over a plea filed by the Press Association of Supreme Court (PAS) to ensure job and health security of working journalists.

A two-member bench of apex court, headed by Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan, on Wednesday resumed the hearing of the media commission case, with PAS President Hasnaat Mehmood Malik and ex-president Ghulam Nabi Yousafzai appeared and requested that no media code of conduct be implemented until working journalists are included in the policymaking.

Nabi called the attention of the bench to the working journalists issue by stating that there is no job or health security in the profession, referring to the case of senior journalist Sadaqat Chaudhry, who recently died without access to proper treatment.

Aitzaz Ahsan, counsel for Pakistan Broadcasting Association (PBA), also backed the plea of PAS and recommended that the bench allow working journalists to be part of media committee. Bench, however, asked the AAG to submit a reply over PAS’s contentions regarding the difficulties faced by working journalists.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 16^th, 2016.