All stakeholders were consulted on PEMRA Amendment Bill 2023: Marriyum

ISLAMABAD (APP) - Minister for Information Marriyum Aurangzeb said restrictions were imposed on the media due to the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority’s (PEMRA) order during the PTI era.

Addressing a press conference on Saturday, he said: “The PEMRA Amendment Bill 2023 is the bill not of the government. This is a bill of Pakistan, the people of Pakistan, the media and journalists, in which the rights of journalists are protected. It includes the representation of journalistic organizations, and they are empowered to make decisions.”

The minister said that PEMRA Ordinance was promulgated in 2002 and now in 2023, the media landscape had changed and it become so diverse. “We are all going through a new era of social media where new platforms have been introduced to express opinions, all these channels are present on cyberspace and social media,” she added. "At that time, the programs running at that time were stopped, journalists and news channels were banned. In the past, firing was done on journalists, they were kidnapped and tortured, their programs were stopped and they were sent to jails."

The minister said that the laws regarding the rights of journalists, ethical media, media responsibilities and fake news within the regulatory bodies in many countries of the world were reviewed.

She said that she was thankful to all these organizations that assisted her in preparing the PEMRA (Amendment) Bill 2023.

Marriyum said that the Joint Action Committee held several meetings over the course of 11 months for consultations with all stakeholders on the bill. She said that for the first time the definition of disinformation and misinformation had been included in the PEMRA law with the support of all media organizations. “We clarified the difference between misinformation and disinformation in the bill,” she added.

The minister said that the PEMRA amendment bill was made in light of the resolutions approved by the United Nations Human Rights Committee and in consultation with journalists and clauses were added to this bill considering the existing media laws in the countries of Great Britain, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, France, India, Brazil, Russia, European Union and Australia.

She emphasized that the PEMRA Amendment Bill was a collaborative process involving not only the government but also media workers representatives, media organisations and the public.