The blues outshine boasts in NA on press freedom day
By Raja Asghar
ISLAMABAD, May 3: The blues outshone boasts as the National Assembly devoted most of its proceedings on Thursday to assuring solidarity with the media to mark the international press freedom day.
Opposition members lambasted the government for curtailing press freedom through such means as denying state advertising to non-conformist newspapers, threats given to journalists and the latest tactic of blocking broadcasts of private television channels as seen during the prevailing judicial crisis.
But the government denied the charges, claimed being the most liberal to the press in Pakistan’s history and took credit for the expansion of the electronic media in recent years, with Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Tariq Azeem Khan blaming the problems of television channels on their failure to get permanent uplinking facilities.
The discussion followed a demonstration by journalists outside the parliament house and came two days after a US-based media watchdog, the Committee to Protect Journalists, cited Pakistan among the top 10 worst countries for press freedom --- the others being Ethiopia, Gambia, Russia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cuba, Egypt, Azerbaijan, Morocco and Thailand.
Yet Mr Tariq Azeem said the “press freedom enjoyed in Pakistan during the past seven years (of the present regime) had never been given before”. He specifically referred to complaints about the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra), including opposition demands to review its powers to punish the electronic media, and said: “It may not be the perfect system but is the best system we have.”
About interruptions of the broadcasts suffered by some television channels, he said it happened because the channels did not have permanent uplinking facility that allowed their signals to be shown in Pakistan and had to seek occasional renewals. “I advise them to get permanent uplinking facility,” he added.
On the whole, Mr Azeem gave what he called “full assurance” of the government to journalists that “our support to them will continue”.
Ms Sherry Rahman of the People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPP), who initiated the discussion, complained that journalists were “working in a state of fear” and said allowing up to 50 television channels would mean nothing if they were not allowed freedom in their operations.
PPP secretary-general Raja Pervez Ashraf said what had happened to some private television channels whose transmissions were blocked for their reporting about the judicial crisis negated the government’s claims about press freedom.
Liaqat Baloch of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) described Pemra regulations as “black laws” which, he said, must be reviewed by parliament --- a demand also voiced by another alliance member, Ms Samia Raheel Qazi.
The ruling Pakistan Muslim League (PML) member and a literary figure, Ms Bushra Rahman, said every freedom must be subject to restrictions of a code of conduct while her party colleague Ms Mehnaz Rafi referred to sacrifices of journalists for press freedom after 1973, but did not refer to what happened during 10 years (1958-69) of the country’s first military ruler, Field Marshal Mohammad Ayub Khan.
Muttahida Qaumi Movement member Haider Abbas Rizvi saluted the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists and other journalist bodies for their struggle for press freedom while his party colleague and Ports and Shipping Minister Babar Khan Ghauri gave “all credit” to President Pervez Musharraf for the freedoms enjoyed by the press now.
Mr Rizvi was briefly involved in angry exchanges with an MMA member from the Jamaat-i-Islami, Hanif Abbasi, when both of them accused each other’s party of intimidating journalists.
NO PRESS IN FATA: Two members from the Federal Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), Shahabuddin Khan of the Awami National Party and pro-MMA independent Maulana Merajuddin, complained of what they called a total ban on press in their region where no newspaper was allowed to be published.
