ISLAMABAD, Aug 12: The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) has welcomed the media bill which was introduced in the National Assembly on Monday to replace the amended ordinance of 2007, which empowered DCOs to suspend declaration of newspapers for violating clauses aimed to restrict media from criticising the president.

A statement issued by the PFUJ said that although the amended Pemra ordinance had been removed but the controversial code of ethics was still part of the Pemra ordinance.

The code also binds the media to stop criticising the president. Although, Pemra had not taken any action against TV channels since Feb 18, the statement said, the controversial code “must be repealed”. Praising the government’s track record regarding free media commitments, it said: “We expect the PPP government to give serious attention to the welfare of (newspaper) workers and implement the 7th Wage Award.

Meanwhile, the PFUJ has set up a five-member committee to prepare the draft for the Media Complaints Commission in accordance with a decision taken during the International Media Summit held in Lahore last week.

The committee comprises PFUJ president Huma Ali, Zaffar Abbas, Aamir Matin, Mohammad Malic and Saeed Minhas.

The committee will submit its recommendations in two weeks after consultations with various stakeholders, including the Pakistan Broadcasters Association, All Pakistan Newspapers Society, Council of Pakistan Newspapers Editors, and representatives of the civil society.