PMDA to be resisted in and outside parliament: Irfan Siddiqui

ISLAMABAD: A member of Senate Standing Committee for Information and Broadcasting and Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Education, Senator Irfan Siddiqui, on Thursday strongly criticised the proposal of the government to establish Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA), saying the proposal is an attempt to subjugate freedom of expression and terrorise the media already under pressure.

The senior journalist, elected senator on the ticket of PMLN and member of upper house, Irfan Siddiqui expressed his concern in a press statement that the government yesterday (Wednesday) convened a joint meeting of the standing committees of Senate and National Assembly at the Pak-China Friendship Centre outside the parliament premises without consulting any opposition party.

On Wednesday, PPP Senators walked out of the joint meeting. PPP Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar rose to point out that the entire opposition including PMLN did not attend the meeting and that they would stage a walkout for not fulfilling legal formalities to convene the meet.

The intimation of the meeting was communicated a few hours before the meeting, informing that the concerned minister will brief the joint meeting on the PMDA. The PMLN and PPP objected to the venue of the meeting and boycotted it.

Senator Irfan Siddiqui said the opposition would vehemently oppose any effort to curtail press freedom and fully resist the PMDA in and outside the parliament as the proposed authority was not being formed for media development but for "media destruction".

The senator, in a press release, said during the tenure of PMLN, a committee was formed under his chairmanship to prepare a code of ethics for the electronic media. He said it is pride for him that the existing code of ethics was prepared by the committee for which the Pakistan Broadcasters Association fully cooperated.

He said every word of the code was unanimously agreed and enforced on the order of the Supreme Court, adding if there was any issue in its implementation, it can be improved. He said likewise the Press Council for Print Media can be activated, whereas the laws on social media are also operative, hence in this situation, establishment of a new authority would further subjugate the media, which cannot be taken as a good intention.

Senator Irfan Siddiqui further said the reservations of PBA, PFUJ, APNS, CPNE and other organisations should not be ignored. He stated that the PMLN with other opposition parties will put its best efforts to forestall the arbitrary legislation.