PESHAWAR, Nov 15: The South Asia Free Media Association (Safma) has condemned the curbs imposed on the media and termed the new ‘code of conduct’ issued by the government as ‘ridiculous’.

Participants of a meeting held by the NWFP chapter of Safma at the Peshawar Press Club on Thursday condemned the blocking of electronic news channels and said access to information was a right of the people.

They said President Pervez Musharraf, who used to claim that he had given freedom to the media, was the one who had snatched it, imposed a ban on the media and issued a code of conduct under the amended Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority Ordinance.

Safma vice-president Abdullah Jan said information was public property and media should be free to inform the public. He criticised the code of conduct for the media.

“It is ridiculous that if any participant says something against government policies during a talk show on a TV channel, the anchor and the channel will be held responsible,” he said.

The association’s senior vice-president Ismail Khan said there should be a code of conduct but banning Pakistani news channels for allegedly spreading ‘vulgarity’ seemed absurd as foreign entertainment channels were still on air.

The media persons observed that banning television channels and imposing curbs in the name of code of conduct was not going to stop the flow of information as people were aware and they wanted to remain informed.

Senior journalist Shamim Shahid said the judiciary and the media were the targets of the emergency rule and it should be resisted.

The government had accused the judiciary and the media of encouraging terrorists but the following day it released 25 terrorists, among them convicts arrested while preparing for suicide bombings. They said Gen Musharraf had created the mess he was in and he could not blame the media or judiciary for the prevalent situation.

The journalists held the government responsible for the law and order situation and vowed to fulfil their duties despite the curbs.

Members of the civil society also expressed solidarity with the media persons. They said they had launched an awareness campaign under the banner of the Alliance for the Protection of Human Rights.