No compromise on access to information: Justice Saeed

ISLAMABAD: Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed on Wednesday remarked that no compromise would be made on access to information and nothing could be hidden in today’s world.
If anyone thinks that things could be concealed, it’s not possible as everything can come to surface, he observed during the case of Media Commission.A two-member bench of the apex court comprising Justice Jawwad S Khawaja and Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed resumed hearing into implementation of Media Commission recommendations.
During the hearing, grant of licence to Bol TV was also discussed during the proceedings. Justice Khawaja asked Chairman Pemra Rashid Ahmed Chaudhry as to who granted licence to Bol. Chairman Pemra replied that they granted licence to Bol. He said that the Authority first granted licence to companies namely Labaik and Jinnah but then it was transferred to Shoaib Sheikh and Waqas. He said Jinnah is owned by Malik Riaz.
Justice Saeed asked the Chairman as to whether they conduct inquiry before granting licence. Chaudhry replied Ministry of Interior first gives clearance and then Pemra issues licence. “The Authority should know the sources of income of the applicant seeking licence and if there is any company, the authority should know its shareholders,” Justice Saeed said.
Justice Khawaja observed that there is a print line on editorial page of every newspaper, mentioning name of printer and publishers, then why the names of owners of TV channels are hidden. Website of every TV channel should carry name of its owner, he added.
Jutice Saeed observed no compromise would be made on access to information and nothing could be concealed. Anchorperson Hamid Mir told the court that they have also made owner of Jinnah company as respondent in the instant case. He said that the prime minister had constituted a committee headed by Irfan Siddiqui for formulating code of conduct for media. He said no progress could be made on its recommendations due to lack of interest shown by Pakistan Broadcasting Association and media owners.
He said media content were controlled by the media owners and due to their lack of interest in coordinating with the said committee, no consensus could be developed for formulating a code of conduct for media.
Justice Khawaja observed that there is no need of developing consensus. Justice Sheikh Saeed said that there should be a balanced code of conduct for media. The court sought progress report from the federal government pertaining to code of conduct for media and directed Pemra Chairman to furnish details regarding perks and privileges enjoyed by officials of Grade 6 and above.
The court directed Deputy Attorney General Amir Rehman to submit a comprehensive report today (Thursday) on the progress so far made regarding code of conduct for media after contacting the federal government.
The court expressed concerns over non-formation of code of conduct for media despite the fact that the Media Commission had already given recommendations during the past two and half years. It ruled that it will examine if Pemra officials were entitled to get these perks and privileges after the organisation has failed to deliver. Later, the court adjourned the hearing till today (Thursday).