Arbitrary reforms

The government seems eager to pass the draconian Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA) bill. Stakeholders from media houses, human rights activists and media workers have all vehemently rejected the bill. However, The PTI chief, who stood up for the rights of journalists and spoke for the freedom of press to a great extent before coming to power, hasn’t paid attention to the journalists’ concern. The government claims that this law will prevent dissemination of fake news. With this law, the government will be able to impose fines up to Rs250 million on media houses that violate regulations. The bill also claims to ensure job security of journalists, and aims to create research and training opportunities for them. However, the question is: why does the government think it is its duty to train private media? The government refers to this bill as ‘reforms’, and accuses the media and senior journalists of anti-Pakistan activities (a senior minister accused a newspaper of anti-state propaganda in a morning talk show). If the government seriously wants to introduce reforms in the media, there are several other ways to achieve its objective.

Saman Amjad

Sheikhupura