KARACHI, Nov 15: Expressing concern over the media situation, representatives of civil society at a meeting convened by the Action Committee of the Council of Pakistan Newspapers Editors on Thursday called for withdrawal of amendments to the print and media laws and lifting of ban imposed on TV channels.

The meeting was aimed at promoting interaction among representatives of the civil society, non-governmental organisations and professional bodies of working journalists on restrictions imposed on the print and electronic media after the imposition of emergency on November 3.

The meeting resolved that a broad-based coordinating body would be formed to take immediate actions on issues relating to media freedom and rule of law.

PBA board: The board of directors of the Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA) on Wednesday elected Salman Iqbal of ARY Digital as the association’s chairman for the 2007-08 term.

The other office-bearers elected for the board are Ghazanfar Ali (Indus TV) as senior vice-chairman, Mohammad Aslam Kazi (KTN) as vice-chairman, Syed Sarfaraz Hussain Shah (APNA) as secretary general, Jawad Hamid Raja (AVT Khyber) as joint secretary, and Dr Abdul Karim Rajpar (Sindh TV) as finance secretary.

At the annual general meeting, members of the PBA elected five new directors to the board.

A resolution, unanimously adopted at the meeting, expressed grave concern over the continued closure of some member broadcasters of the PBA and urged the government to restore normality in the news media.