Senate panel reviews journalist protection bill

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting meeting held threadbare deliberations on ‘The Protection of Journalists and Media Professionals (Amendment) Bill, 2022’, and also took up several related matters.

The meeting of the panel was held at the Parliament House and presided over by Chairman Senator Syed Ali Zafar. A discussion was held on the definition of journalist, where the representatives of journalistic organizations expressed their views and presented proposals. The representatives of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists complained that journalism organizations and stakeholders were not aware of the text of the bill. On this occasion, the representatives of PFUJ referred to the various laws on the definition of journalists and should be standardised across all laws. The federal information minister explained that the managers’ and supervisor-type jobs have been considered in the non-journalist category; this category is completely separate, and these two things are read together within the law. Senior journalist Hamid Mir pointed out that in the bill ‘technical staff’ members have also been included under the definition of journalists. At this, the committee decided to amend the definition.

Zafar said that the Commission for the Rights of Journalists has been in existence for a long time and the new amendment bill has asked to specify the qualifications of the Chairperson of the Commission. Senator Ali Zafar said the tenure of the chairman has been fixed for three years which can be extended by one year. The press representatives opposed the extension and recommended its removal. The committee asked the commission to remove the clause related to imprisonment but retain the provision of monetary penalty. The federal minister also pointed out that the Journalists Protection Commission was functioning under the Ministry of Human Rights. “Funds are available for journalists protection,” he noted. Tarar said they are ready to follow whatever procedure is necessary to appoint the chairperson of the commission. He noted the delay is due to the interpretation of the two ministries over the issue.

It also discussed the defamation law approved by the Punjab Assembly. At one point the Chairman Committee said that after the Punjab Assembly has approved a bill, anyone who uses defamatory content could be summoned to Punjab. Senator Irfan Siddiqui objected, saying “can we interfere in the affairs of the provincial assembly” “We are interfering in the affairs of a province under the 18th Amendment.”

Federal Minister Tarar added the Punjab government’s law will apply in Punjab alone. Senator Syed Ali Zafar opined that the primary objective of this agenda is to conduct a comparative analysis of defamation laws currently prevailing worldwide. He emphasised that the purpose of the law should be to balance fundamental rights and freedoms, rather than to diminish one at the expense of the other. It decided to hold an exclusive session to discuss the impact of flawed defamation acts on society and the freedom of expression. Federal Minister Attallah Tarar contended that those who have the resources can go abroad and claim defamation damages and get a decision in their favour and pointed out that Chinese companies have been accused of kickbacks here in the past but said nothing could be done about it. He noted that a similar case is being heard here for the last six years but has not progressed beyond the preliminary stage.

Earlier, the committee was told that the Private Member Bill titled ‘The Protection of Journalists and Media Professionals (Amendment) Bill, 2022’, moved by Senator Saleem Mandviwalla aims at the protection of journalists, their families, and their properties. The bill proposes the establishment of a Commission to provide immediate relief to journalists against torture and other calamities. The bill also proposed clauses to protect the sources of journalists. The Committee, after a detailed discussion, deferred further deliberation until the next meeting.

Briefing the forum, Federal Minister Attallah Tarar said the Right of Access to Information (Amendment) Bill 2023 and the Protection of Journalists and Media Professionals (Amendment) Bill 2022 will be considered in the assembly session. Tarar also asked the committee to determine the timeline for concluding the review of the bill so that its passage could be expedited. The minister explained that when the Parliament was dissolved, this bill remained pending but a letter was written to the Ministry of Human Rights to expedite the process for tabling it now.

The federal minister said a cabinet panel has been formed to hold consultations with all the stakeholders on the bill regarding the Digital Rights Protection Authority. Tarar said that “X” platform has all kinds of content: Crimes are happening within the digital domain and because of this, people’s lives are at risk within the digital domain. “If someone gets killed because of a post, it cannot be allowed,” the federal minister contended. The meeting was attended by Senators Irfan ul Haque Siddiqui, Pervaiz Rashid, Sarmad Ali, Aon Abbas, Muhammad Tallal Badar, Abdul Shakoor Khan, Jan Muhammad, Ashraf Ali Jatoi, Saleem Mandviwalla, Zarqa Suharwardhy Taimur, Manzoor Ahmed Kakar, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar, Secretary for Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Ambreen Jan and other senior officials of relevant departments.