AEMEND elects Azhar Abbas as president

The Association of Electronic Media Editors and News Directors (AEMEND) has elected Azhar Abbas as its president and Tariq Mahmood as general secretary.

According to the election results, Muhammad Usman and Mian Tahir were elected vice presidents, Rehan Ahmed and Nadeem Jamal joint secretaries, while Shahab Mahmood was elected finance secretary.

The AEMEND General Council, in meetings held in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, also elected the remaining members of the Executive Committee. The newly elected members include Zahid Mazhar, Masoom Rizvi, Mohsin Raza, Mubarak Ali, Kamran Lashari, Humayun Saleem, Muhammad Naushad, Kahwaja Hasnain and Razaq Sarohi.

The General Council expressed grave concern over the deteriorating state of press freedom in Pakistan and the growing use of government powers and state institutions to restrict independent journalism.

It also raised concerns over the alleged misuse of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) and the actions of the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA).

The Council observed that the irresponsible conduct of certain YouTubers under the guise of journalism appeared to serve personal or political agendas.