PMDA: Bilawal announces PPP’s participation in protest rally

ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Tuesday announced his party’s support to journalists’ protest call against the proposed Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA) and termed it an attempt to suppress the media and freedom of expression.

“We will stand firmly with the journalist community in their struggle against the proposed bill of Pakistan Media Development Authority and the PPP will participate in the protest against this black law,” he announced Tuesday.

Rawalpindi-Islamabad Union of Journalists (RIUJ) has announced holding 'Freedom of Press Rally' against attempts to suppress media and freedom of expression on September 12 and continue the sit-in during President Dr Arif Alvi's address to the joint sitting of the Parliament on September 13.

He said that constituting a committee of government employees to head the entire country’s media was unacceptable as the government wanted to stifle critical voices by setting up a media tribunal. “The proposed bill of Pakistan Media Development Authority will end press freedom in the country,” stated the Chairman PPP.

He also said that PPP would oppose the formation of PMDA at all costs because the government wanted to impose undue curbs on the media to hide its incompetence and corruption. Meanwhile, Jamaat-e-Islami emir Sirajul Haq criticised the government proposal for establishing the PMDA, saying the ruling party wanted to curtail the media freedom and it could bring disaster to overall democratic norms which were already compromised in the country. He said there was no reason to go forward with the idea of PMDA when the media organisations and journalists unions had vehemently opposed it.