NA body takes note of ‘malicious’ campaign

Committee takes stock of ‘disinformation’ about delegation's visit to Canada

ISLAMABAD:

The National Assembly Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting directed the authorities concerned to take punitive action against “anti-state characters” over their alleged involvement in running a malicious media campaign about parliamentary delegation’s recent visit to Canada and about a secret meeting between Pakistan-Israel officials in Doha.

The National Assembly Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting took serious notice of malicious media campaign about the parliamentary delegation’s recent visit to Canada in connection with 65th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (CPC).

The committee also expressed grave concerns on the fake social media news about a secret meeting between the Prime Minister as well as Pakistani officials with the Israeli officials in Doha and malicious media campaign against flood relief activities of UNO in Pakistan.

Subsequently, the committee directed the secretary ministry of interior, director general of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), director of the Cyber Crime Wing, FIA, chairman Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and chairman Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) to take punitive action against anti-state characters behind such social media campaigns.

The 33rd meeting of the committee, chaired by MNA Javaria Zafar Aheer, was held at the Parliament House where the secretary information ministry briefed it regarding coverage of “malicious media campaign” about the parliamentary delegation’s visit to Canada in connection with 65th CPC in social and electronic media.

The committee unanimously condemned the planned media campaigns against National Assembly delegation’s visit to Canada, Prime Minister Office, fake social media news about a secret meeting between Prime Minister/Pakistani officials with the Israeli officials in Doha and Indian media campaign against flood relief activities of UNO in Pakistan.

The chairperson said that halting such media campaigns against Pakistan, parliament and the parliamentarians requires cooperation of government and private media organizations as such campaigns were to create trust deficit between the public and their representatives and detrimental for the sanctity of the parliament.

Meanwhile, the committee deferred the legislative business (Government Bills), including “The Motion Pictures (Amendment) Bill, 2020”, “The Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2020” and “The Associated Press of Pakistan Corporation (Amendment), 2020” and decided to consider the legislative business when the information minister is available.

Armaghan Subhani, Saad Waseem, Nadeem Abbas, Zaib Jaffar, Maiza Hameed, Kiran Imran Dar, Nafisa Shah, Zulfiqar Ali Behan, Naz Baloch, MNAs, senior officers from information and law & justice ministries, Press Information Department and PEMRA were present in the meeting.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, September 13^th, 2022.