KARACHI, June 4: The All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) has unequivocally rejected both the motivation and the rationale contained within the draft of the new Defamation Ordinance 2002.

In a press release issued here on Tuesday, APNS President Hameed Haroon has described the proposed law as draconian and violative of Article 19 of the Constitution of Pakistan.

He has referred the matter to a panel of APNS constitutionalists and legal experts, as to whether a tinkering with those clauses which govern the basic freedom of expression and the Press, in the Constitution, is in accordance with the three-year mandate provided to the present government by the Supreme Court.

He has also requested the Human Rights Commission Pakistan (HRCP) for its opinion, as to whether a negation of the constitutional clauses governing freedom of expression is consistent with a human rights record the present government professes to have.

The press release also states: “ A new environment appears to be governing the government-press relation in the wake of referendum. The government has attempted to attach new clauses to a Press Council law and to a revised text of a Registration of Newspapers and Periodicals Ordinance, which had been decided on the basis of consensus of the Ministry of Information, almost 12 months ago, but not promulgated, despite repeated promises. The government, in general, and the National Reconstruction Bureau (NRB), in particular, has also veiled its preparations behind a shroud of secrecy of the Freedom Information Act, for which a promised draft has not been received by the representatives for the last 18 months.

“ Now with the introduction of a four-pronged attack on press rights — a draft law on the Press Council, a draft law on the registration of newspapers and periodicals, a draft defamation ordinance against newspapers, and finally, an unseen freedom of info act that purports to accompany this defamation ordinance — the four corners of the prison cell in which the present government intends to display the Pakistani press, have now been duly erected. This one intends to stop editors, journalists and publishers from using official government documents to prove the contention of their stories.

“ The new defamation laws that Mr Ranjha’s ministry tried to pioneer, that Mr Nisar Memon’s ministry will be expected to uphold, and that the soon to-be-outgoing cabinet of Gen Musharraf is expected to enthusiastically acquiesce in defiance of informed public opinion, is unfortunately a trio of actors that appear to be hell bent upon destroying the respectable image of President Musharraf’s government on press freedom, both internationally and at home. A few bad laws and a few over enthusiastic proponents are designed to do both the country and the government harm during its eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation with neighbouring India. The President must not only silence the dangerous proponents of this law in his own government, but he also needs to change the way his government is trying to do business with the Press after the referendum.”