Matters relating to Newsleak fall within our jurisdiction, says Press Council

Newspaper, staff shouldn’t be punished

ISLAMABAD: The Press Council of Pakistan (PCP) on Thursday discussed a probe committee formed by the government on the publication of a news story in Dawn and agreed that the panel should not proceed against the newspaper or its staff and also not insist on divulgence of its source of information in the conduct of the probe.

The council, which consists of 18 members and meets after every three months, had 14 members present at its 13th meeting here. A unanimous resolution was adopted at the end of proceedings.

The forum was of the view that matters such as those relating to the Dawn story fall within the jurisdiction of the council and should have been brought before it in the event of any grievance as envisaged in the Press Council of Pakistan Ordinance.

The council maintained that it was unfortunate that neither the government nor any of its departments referred this matter to the Press Council of Pakistan. It was learnt that as per the ordinance, the council on its own could not take up any such matter until and unless, referred to it or a complaint lodged with it, even by an individual.

Those who attended the meeting included Wamiq Zuberi, Khurshid Tanweer, Qazi Assad Abid, Pir Haroon Shah, Muhammad Ibrahim, Ayesha Ikram, Muhammad Ali, Mujibur Rehman Shami, Amir Mehmood, Iqbal Jafri, Dr Shah Jehan Syed, Anwar Sajdi and acting registrar Ejaz Hussain Baqri.

Two members of the National Assembly, namely Shazia Mari and Abdul Rehman Kanju, could not attend the event. The council appreciated all the efforts made by Chairman PCP Dr Salahuddin Mengal, including publication of annual report 2015-16. The chairman concluded the meeting with a vote of thanks to members of the council.

The minutes of the 12th general council meeting were presented before the council. All other agenda items of the 13th general council were also discussed in detail in the meeting, which were approved by the council.