LAHORE: The Punjab government is bringing a new law to plan and decide the ways and means to disseminate ‘awareness’ about government projects, initiatives and policies for ensuring access to information as well as participation of public and transparency to provide a comprehensive framework for government advertisements and communications.

Information Minister Azma Bokhari on Thursday tabled the Punjab Public Awareness and Dissemination of Information Bill 2025 in the assembly. Panel of Chairperson Samiullah Khan referred the bill to the relevant committee for its report within a month.

Reading of the bill explains that all public awareness campaigns undertaken by the government or public body since Jan 1, 2024 shall be deemed to have been validly undertaken under the Act. The new law also empowers the government to name, rename, alter or change the name of any public project.

While speculations are running wild that the PML-N government is bringing another law to gag journalists and citizens from questioning how much public money the government has spent on ads and promoting itself, Azma Bokhari cleared the speculations saying, “It is a simple bill to empower the government to plan and execute awareness among public about government initiatives and programmes”.

Draft bill empowers govt to rename any project, bars court purview, grants indemnity to officials; Azma defends Sharifs’ pictures on schemes

Speaking to Dawn, Ms Bokhari said it was the government’s prerogative to take initiatives and plan about its dissemination through different modes of advertisements. She said the PTI had also launched propaganda that the Punjab government spent billions of rupees on a supplement and added the cost did not touch even Rs1bn.

Referring to a propaganda about the Sharifs’ pictures on government projects, the information minister said this was a political government and all PML-N office-bearers and workers were political people.

“If Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has taken an initiative and spent billions of rupees, why should there not be a picture of the chief minister,” she said and rebuffed whatever people say about it.

The bill seeks to empower the government or a public body to launch an awareness campaign through any advertising agency, commercials or messages across various platforms including billboards, television, print, radio, cinema, digital and other mediums for disseminating information and raising awareness among public about projects.

It empowers the government to engage a renowned person including but not limited to a sports person, celebrity, academician, scholar. The law says awareness shall only be launched for public projects.

Explaining the parameters of public awareness drive, the bill said a campaign may include proponent of a project; nature and importance of the project; estimated or allocated funding for the project; total cost of the programme; timeline of completion of the project; or any other matter as may be prescribed.

The law says the Director General Public Relations (DGPR) shall be responsible to release, publish, telecast or broadcast the public awareness campaign through advertising agencies in such manner as may be prescribed. The advertising agency should be pre-qualified by the department. Any person aggrieved by any action under the Act may file a complaint before the DGPR. The aggrieved person will also be empowered to file an appeal with the Punjab information department secretary within 30 days for a final verdict.

The government may, by notification in the official gazette, make rules for carrying out the purposes of the Act.

The bill also suggests that no court, including the civil court shall have jurisdiction in any matter arising out of or under the Act. Creating indemnity, the law says no suit, prosecution or other legal proceedings shall lie against the government, public body, officers of the information department, or employees performing under the Act, for any damage caused or likely to be caused by any act or omission which is, in good faith, done or intended to be done under the Act or rules.

In case any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of the Act, the government, at any time, may make such orders or give such directions as are necessary to remove such difficulty.

The information minister told this reporter that the government has created a window to redress public concerns about awareness campaigns including advertisements. In case of dissatisfaction, the complainant can approach the information secretary with an appeal.

Published in Dawn, June 13th, 2025