PESHAWAR, Aug 29: A joint meeting of the national executive council of the All Pakistan Newspaper Employees Confederation (Apnec) and the federal executive council of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) has demanded abrogation of what it calls outdated laws like the Official Secrets Act, Defamation Law, IRO 2002 and the Press Council.

The three-day meeting which ended on Sunday also demanded that journalists be allowed to cover military operations in the South Waziristan agency and parts of Balochistan, and eviction of parents from the Okara military farms.

The meeting set up an action committee to streamline the struggle of affiliated unions for the implementation of the Seventh Wage Board Award, and for the constitution of the eight wage board.

The meeting called upon the new federal government of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to honour the commitment of the outgoing cabinet to link government's advertisements to the implementation of the wage award.

The meeting condemned what it termed was the rising trend of corruption in the print and electronic media and underlined the need for promoting responsible reporting on issues like rape cases and assaults on women.

The meeting denounced the abduction of journalists in Iraq and appealed to their captors to release them on humanitarian grounds.