Alvi lauded for approving PEMRA Amendment Bill
President Dr Arif Alvi signing the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Amendment) Bill 2023 into law, at Aiwan-e-Sadr, Islamabad, on August 15, 2023. PHOTO: PID
A Media Joint Action Committee (MJAC) on Wednesday expressed gratitude to President Dr Arif Alvi for formally approving and signing the PEMRA Amendment Bill 2023.
The committee represented Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE), Association of Electronic Media Editors and News Directors (AEMEND), All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) and Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA).
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“We appreciate President Alvi’s understanding of the need for these amendments, which are a first step towards making PEMRA independent, defining the often misused term “Fake News”, ensuring that electronic media workers get paid on time, appointment of Chairman PEMRA by the Parliament instead of the Government and partially addressing the long pending demands of electronic media to rationalise the terms of license,” the committee said in a statement.
“Although there is still a long way to go to ensure freedom of speech and a free media, the current bill is a step in the right direction,” it added.