ISLAMABAD - Information Secretary of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and former minister for information and broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb on Thursday urged the journalists and media workers to remain united and ensure implementation of Pemra (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which would replace the 2002 Pemra Ordinance, a black law introduced by Pervez Musharraf.

Marriyum Aurangzeb thanked all the media organizations including All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS), Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA), Parliamentary Reporters Association (PRA), Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) for their guidance and support in the preparation of the Pemra (Amendment) Bill, 2023. During her visit to National Press Club here, she said that for the past 12 months, consultations were held with all stakeholders for the preparation of the bill.

She said the rights of working journalists and media workers had been protected in the bill as the issuance of government advertisements had been linked to payment of salaries and dues of the journalists and media workers. Moreover, the rule of minimum wages would now apply to media organizations, she added.

The former minister said that the outgoing government had introduced Health Insurance Card scheme for journalists and media workers and had created a fund for payment of Rs 4 million to the families of those who die in the line of duty. She ruled out the impression given by a certain lobby that the bill was prepared in haste or it was being passed on the instructions of someone.

The former minister also rubbished the impression that she had withdrawn the bill from the Senate Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting under pressure from some persons. Citing the examples of slogans against her by workers of a political party, she said that she never bowed to pressure. She said that some people had been opposing the Amendment Bill without bothering to read it thoroughly. She said that in the National Assembly and its standing committee, every clause of the Bill was discussed and then it was approved. Criticizing the impression that the bill was meant to impose restrictions on the media, she said as a political worker, she could not even think about curtailing freedom of expression.

Source: The Nation