The major players, such as journalists, activists, ministers sometime forget what role the media can play in developing a nation, committee pondered. DESIGN: SUNARA NIZAMI
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has announced that within a few months, a special task force constituted to provide a ‘code of conduct’ for the media in Pakistan will provide a new legal framework.
“We are pleased to have a consensus group of top lawyers who will have four to six months to undertake this task,” said the chairperson of the standing committee, PML-N’s Marvi Memon. “We will ensure, through the periodic review of this Task force that the laws are relevant to today’s Pakistan and to the future generations’ aspirations.”
“The most important thing we need is to ensure the safety and security of journalists,” said former president Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) Pervaiz Shaukat. Discussing PFUJ’s efforts during the last government’s tenure, he said that it was agreed in principle that those who are victims of target killings should be compensated by the government. The government completed its term and a new one replaced it and nothing happened in that regard, he added. Shaukat said the media lacks a ‘code of ethics’, adding, “We can avoid a blame game by following a given code of ethics.”
On Wednesday, the National Assembly Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting set up a nine-member Task force, which includes Babar Sattar, Barrister Salman Afridi, Rizwan Ejaz, Nawazish Peerzada, Faisal Siddiqi, Ayub Baloch, Yasmeen Aftab Ali and Afia Salam. One member will be included at a later date.
The Task force will conduct a comprehensive review of all existing laws, rules, regulations at the federal, provincial and local levels which either directly or indirectly have a bearing on the operation and output of the media.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 2nd, 2014.
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