Fawad jibes at Shehbaz: ‘If no law has been made yet, how will it end’

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain Monday alleged that some media owners were inciting their employees to take to the streets for getting bonus along with their salaries.

In tweets, the minister contended that some media owners are claiming fake news as their right and they were telling their employees to take bonus along with their salary but stage demonstrations on the streets.

“Protection of ordinary media workers and heavy fines against fake news: How is this law against journalism? How can false news be a fundamental right,” he wondered. The minister reacted strongly to a statement by leader of the opposition in National Assembly and PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif, and said, “Evaluate the merits of Shehbaz Sharif from this. He is saying that we will sit in the camp till the end of the law. For God's sake, don’t read anything else, just read the newspaper”.

Fawad emphasised that if no law has been made yet, how will it end? What kind of leaders this country has. Separately, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib said Javed Latif, chairman Standing Committee, formed a sub-committee to take forward consultation with all stakeholders on the PMDA.

“By postponing the meeting of the sub-committee, the opposition including Marriyum Aurangzeb is disrespecting the forum of the parliament itself.” In response to a statement on Monday, Farrukh said the sub-committee was formed under the chairmanship of PMLN’s Marriyum Aurangzeb.

The minister said they (the opposition) were not interested in development of the media, elimination of fake news and protection of jobs of working journalists and media workers, effective legislation for timely payment of salaries.

Meanwhile, PTI member of the NA sub-committee on information on PMDA, Kanwal Shauzab, wrote a letter to Chairman NA Committee on Information and Broadcasting and noted that the assembly sub-committee chairperson had a biased attitude toward the PMDA.

“As per the decision taken in the 27th meeting of the Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting of the National Assembly, a three-member sub-committee, headed by Ms Marriyum Aurangzeb, was constituted to review the details and discussion on the PMDA framework. Ms Marriyum Aurangzeb, while addressing the protest of the representatives of media organisations in Islamabad, clearly expressed her partiality on the issue of PMDA,” she alleged.

She said that that was a big question mark over the “neutral status” of the consultative process, to be held in the forthcoming meetings of the sub-committee under his leadership. “If the sub-committee meets under her chairmanship, there can be no progressive discussion on the proposed free work of the PMDA. The initiative of PMDA framework could fall victim to the politics of political parties and become “political football”.

“It is, therefore, requested that Ms Marriyum Aurangzeb be replaced with a member who has genuine credentials of impartiality and positivity and believes in a constructive relationship between the government and the opposition,” she said.