Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib has said the government held a wide ranging consultation process with the stakeholders on the proposed Pakistan Media Development Authority (PDMA) bill to move forward.
While briefing a sub-committee of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting, the state minister said all the stakeholders including PBA, APNS, CPNE, major press clubs of the country and PFUJ had been consulted on the PMDA framework.
He said currently seven laws and seven organisations including Pemra, Audit Bureau of Circulation, Press Registrar and Press Council of Pakistan had been regulating the media and the government planned to unite them under the PMDA umbrella.
This would not only reduce the budget but also facilitate the process, Habib said.
Meanwhile, the state minister observed that a Media Complaints Commission (MCC) would take decisions on the applications of journalists and media workers connected with the electronic, print and digital media within 21 days.
The decision of the MCC could be challenged in the media tribunal and the tribunal would have 21 days to make judgment. The tribunal’s decision could only be challenged in the Supreme Court.
Habib noted that the MCC would be an independent body which would not be under the influence of the PMDA.
He said the MCC offices would be set up in Lahore, Multan, Sukkur, Karachi, Quetta, Peshawar and Islamabad
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