ISLAMABAD: The Constitution of Pakistan guarantees access to information among other rights to citizens however it is not being implemented properly.
This was highlighted by speakers during a press conference on Tuesday.
“Instead of implementation of the Constitution in letter and spirit, we see implementation of might. We see supremacy of the Official Secrets Act and not the 1973 Constitution. There is a suffocating environment,” said former Senate chairman Raza Rabbani at a national seminar to commemorate International Day for Universal Access to Information, observed on Sept 28.
Parliamentarians, editors and representatives from media attended the event held at the National Press Club (NPC). It was organised by the Parliamentarians Commission for Human Rights in collaboration with NPC and Rawalpindi Islamabad Union of Journalists (RIUJ).
“What we witness today is the deliberate dismantling of institutions. We are moving towards a fascist form of governance in Pakistan, in which the civil component exists merely for face saving,” he said.
He assured media of complete support in its struggle for freedom of expression and access to information.
Earlier, Senator Faisal Javed maintained that the Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA) was just a concept paper and introduced for input of all stakeholders, calling for legislation regarding fake news.
“It is a good concept paper. But do we really need the PMDA if the objectives of media can be achieved otherwise. It is all still under discussion because media has evolved tremendously and stringent laws are needed to regulate this vast field,” he said.
Prime Minister Imran Khan would never restrict freedom of expression and freedom of the media, Mr Javed said, adding improving legislation does not mean restricting media and impacting all stakeholders.
PML-N Senator Irfan Siddiqui said, “Pakistan ranks among highly legislated nations, yet law is not implemented and there is no accountability.
“We will support the media in its struggle. It is a long road to enforce the Constitution in letter and spirit.”
Other speakers said while rights of the common people had been confined to literature in books only and it was therefore the job of journalists, who work in the public interest, to make information public.
They said PMDA was an attempt to converge multiple media regulatory bodies and expand the ambit of regulation for digital media. They argued that the government did not formulate the Right to Information Act willingly but due to international pressure, adding although as per the Act departments must share information, government institutions were reluctant to oblige.
They said it is imperative to ensure that such laws actually made a difference in the lives of the people.
Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists Secretary General Nasir Zaidi said, “It is imperative to give civilian supremacy priority in the civil-military equation. We need a resolve on supremacy of the Constitution, without which implementation of law cannot be imagined,” he said, adding thousands of journalists have been rendered jobless and the government’s policies only deepen an already dire crisis.
Published in Dawn, September 29th, 2021
