ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Standing Committee on Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage proposed on Wednesday to make Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) a truly autonomous body accountable to parliament and not to the executive.

Marvi Memon, chairperson of the committee, stressed the need for changing the mode for the appointment of the chairman and members of Pemra on the lines of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

She said the committee recommended that an integrated regulatory body like Ofcom (Office of Communications) of the UK be established by merging Pemra and the PTA which should also include the cinema industry. Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid and members of the committee Parveen Masood Bhatti, Arifa Khalid Pervez, Marriyum Aurangzeb, Imran Zafar Leghari, Belum Hasnain, Murad Saeed, Dr Azhar Khan Jadoon, Saman Sultana Jafri and Naeema Kishwer attended the meeting.

The committee recommended a temporary freeze (except for community licences) on issuance of licences for new TV channels while noting that the cable TV distribution capacity was already saturated.

The committee proposed that PTV, PBC and APP should be transformed into genuine public service entities consistent with Article 19 of the Constitution.

A new system should be introduced for appointment of the chairman, CEO and board of directors. The government should look into options for restructuring the PTV, PBC and APP to make their ownership more broad-based and public service-oriented.The committee recommended strict action against media by Pemra and the Press Council to prevent defamation or ridicule of public figures.

It asked the ECP to implement recommendations of the media commission to ensure transparency in use of funds for advertising in the next local government elections.

The committee proposed restructuring of the information ministry. It decided to form a task force comprising legal experts to review 64 laws relating to media.