Journalist protection bill: Petition seeks disclosure of news source

SHC directs federal law officer to inform court about status of bill reportedly pending with the Senate.

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Wednesday directed the federal law officer to inform the court about the status of the Journalist Protection and Welfare Bill 2011 reportedly pending with the Senate.

Chief Justice Maqbool Baqar, who headed the bench, issued the directive while hearing a petition demanding the journalists to disclose source of news regarding arrest of a man allegedly involved in the murder of Muttahida Qaumi Movement leader Dr Imran Farooq in London.

On previous hearing, a lawyer representing the journalists’ bodies, Rasheed A Razvi, had told the judges that the Journalist Protection and Welfare Bill 2011 had been placed in the Senate, adding that the Section 3 of the bill provided that no journalist would be compelled to disclose his source of information. Only Supreme Court could demand such a disclosure, if necessary for the security of the country, but it would not make it public.

The judges had therefore asked the federal government’s law officer to ascertain whether or not the proposed bill had been passed so that the court could decide the case.

In her petition, Beena Khalid had pleaded to the court to ask the journalists disclose their source of news regarding arrest of her husband, Khalid Shamim, a 37-year-old employee of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board. Shamim was whisked away from the Karachi airport on January 6, 2011. But, the journalists concerned had refused to divulge information before the court.