Sindh Commission for Protection of Journalists chairperson resigns

The chairperson of the Sindh Commission for Protection of Journalists and Media Practitioners (SCPJMP), Justice (retd) Nazar Akbar, has resigned from the office.

In his resignation letter to the Sindh chief minister, Justice (retd) Akbar said he was appointed as the chairperson of the commission by the caretaker Sindh government after the demise of former chairperson Justice (retd) Rasheed A Razvi, although he was not interested for the post and his name had been proposed without his expressed consent.

He said that the information secretary initiated a summary on May 15 after two-and-a-half months of the smooth functioning of the commission for determination of terms and conditions and service rules in respect of the chairperson of the commission under the SCPJMP Act.

He said the said summary was taken up by the provincial cabinet on July 11 and the decision of the cabinet was not officially communicated to him despite the fact that it pertained to his office.

He said he had come to know that the information department had been asked by the cabinet to initiate a fresh summary for a new appointment of the SCPJMP chairperson along with proposed terms and conditions.

He said the relevant Act for the journalists’ protection commission provided mechanism for the appointment and removal of the chairperson of the commission.

He said it was obvious that there was no vacancy for the chairperson, since according to the law department, the appointment of the present chairperson was within the competence of then caretaker government.

Justice (retd) Akbar said the entire community of the journalists, including the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists, had insisted and pressurised the caretaker government to fill the vacancy of the chairperson of the commission by appointing a retired judge instead of a retired bureaucrat. He added that the journalist bodies were fully aware of the development and had not made any response.

The SCPJMP chairperson wrote that as the Sindh cabinet wanted to appoint a new chairperson, he wanted to facilitate it and therefore he was submitting his resignation in terms of the Section 10(3) of the SCJPMP Act.

He requested the CM to accept his resignation immediately so that fresh appointment could be made without embarrassing the words of the law.