Curbs on Media: New Bill proposed by MPs

[Spring Onion]

ISLAMABAD: Lawmakers in Pakistan have proposed a code of conduct for Pakistan’s electronic media to restrict their graphic coverage of militants’ terror attacks, a government spokeswoman said on Wednesday.

If approved by the National Assembly, the new code will also repeal “draconian” laws imposed on the media by former military ruler Pervez Musharraf, the spokeswoman said.

Presidential spokeswoman Farahnaz Ispahani said the code was not an attempt to control the electronic media, and would be similar to one “practised all over the world.”

Ispahani, who is also a member of the parliamentary committee on information and broadcasting, said the new rules had been listed in a report by the committee that would become a bill in parliament’s next session, in August.

Among the restrictions that the bill proposed repealing was a law against journalists defaming Musharraf, the army or the government, on penalty of a five-million rupee fine.

She defended the proposed new restrictions, saying that “nowhere in the civilised world are murderers, terrorists and extremists given air time on the electronic media to expound their views.

“The Pakistani nation, our government and our military are fighting and facing death at the hands of these anti-state actors every day. Thousands of innocent Pakistanis have already died in this war.

“Showing dead, mutilated corpses and other extreme pictures and videos give psychological strength to the extremists and cause emotional grief to the people of Pakistan,” she said.

The proposed amendments will “bar the media from broadcasting video footage of suicide bombers, terrorists, bodies of victims of terrorism, statements and pronouncements of militants and extremist elements and other acts which, may, in any way, promote, aid or abet terrorists or terrorism.”

The committee suggested that violators of the code be punished with a fine of up to 10 million rupees and imprisonment of up to three years for repeated violations, she said.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani promised after his inauguration in March 2008 that he would undo the media law introduced by Musharraf after he imposed emergency rule in November 2007. —AFP

 

[Spring Onion]

Pakistan poised to vote on restricting media
Page last updated at 15:50 GMT, Tuesday, 29 June 2010 16:50 UK
E-mail this to a friend Printable version By Aijaz Maher

BBC News, Islamabad

Pakistan's PM said that he would remove restrictions Pakistan is poised to clamp down on the country's independent media industry.

The government has introduced a bill in parliament which, if passed, would usher in harsher regulations for broadcasters and online organisations.

It seeks to amend a law enforced by Pakistan's former military ruler, Gen Pervez Musharraf, in a bid to regulate parts of the media.

Political analysts fear the government is using the law to rein in broadcasters critical of its policies.

The bill, which targets radio and TV and some online news services, is likely to be voted on within days.

The extent to which new media will be affected by the proposed law is unclear, while print remains unaffected.

The current government, led by the Pakistan Peoples Party, has sought to placate censorship fears by claiming that it is diluting the harsher methods introduced by the former dictator.

"We are introducing the bill after disposing of those parts introduced by Musharraf," Belum Hasnain, chairwoman of the parliament's media committee said in a statement.

'Reining in TV'

The committee has to vet the bill, known as the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Act, before parliament votes on it.

Ms Hasnain said the bill would remove restrictions on the media, as promised by Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gillani in his inaugural speech.

However, political analysts believe that the government is using the law to rein in local television channels which have grown highly critical of its policies.

According to the bill, broadcasters in Pakistan will be banned from showing images or programming of suicide bombings, terrorists or the bodies of victims of terror attacks.

They will also be prevented from showing related material.

Further, they will not be permitted to broadcast statements by militants or extremists, or activities deemed to be connected with the spread of militancy and extremism.

The broadcaster will also be bound to assure the government that none of its programmes will promote hatred or militancy.

In addition, the law states that programmes opposing the ideology, sanctity, independence and security of the state of Pakistan cannot be broadcast.

Companies that violate the law will have their licences cancelled. They can also be fined up to 10 million rupees ($117,647; £78,740) and jailed for three years.

The bill is likely to raise questions about the government's policy on freedom of speech and dissent, which has hardened considerably over the past three months.

Pakistan has recently blocked several internet sites for allegedly promoting blasphemous content. It has also started monitoring of search engines and email providers including Google, Yahoo and Hotmail.

The electronic media regulatory bill is likely to be presented for vote before the parliament in a few days.


BBC News - Pakistan poised to vote on restricting media

 

[maithil]

ha....there goes NAZAM SETHI, MUBASHIR LUCMAN ,HAMID MIR and JAVED CHOUDHARY....

 

[Spring Onion]

ha....there goes NAZAM SETHI, MUBASHIR LUCMAN ,HAMID MIR and JAVED CHOUDHARY....

????? what do you mean by above ?

 

[maithil]

what i mean is that they are the ones who always try to show the govt. AAINA..
so when such a bill is passed, they will be the first ones getting pink slips..

 

[Spring Onion]

what i mean is that they are the ones who always try to show the govt. AAINA..
so when such a bill is passed, they will be the first ones getting pink slips..

well not specifically because Hamid Mir's program is Talk show similarly the other one too and Najam Sethi's case also doesnt come under this

 

[GUNNER]

There is nothing new in this bill. It is the same code of conduct which was adopted by nine major Television Channels. The code included ban on showing live footage of terrorist attacks, ban on showing corpses and blood, also body parts or other such visuals, and also regarding coverage to such elements. Some of the channles do not follow it, so i guess the bill will be intended to include all of them.

 

[mehru]

Good move as long as the Govt doesn't misuse it.

 

[Musafar]

The government has introduced a bill in parliament which, if passed, would usher in harsher regulations for broadcasters and online organisations.

It seeks to amend a law enforced by Pakistan's former military ruler, Gen Pervez Musharraf, in a bid to regulate parts of the media.

Political analysts fear the government is using the law to rein in broadcasters critical of its policies.

The bill, which targets radio and TV and some online news services, is likely to be voted on within days.

The extent to which new media will be affected by the proposed law is unclear, while print remains unaffected.

The current government, led by the Pakistan Peoples Party, has sought to placate censorship fears by claiming that it is diluting the harsher methods introduced by the former dictator.

"We are introducing the bill after disposing of those parts introduced by Musharraf," Belum Hasnain, chairwoman of the parliament's media committee said in a statement.
'Reining in TV'

The committee has to vet the bill, known as the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Act, before parliament votes on it.

Ms Hasnain said the bill would remove restrictions on the media, as promised by Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gillani in his inaugural speech.

However, political analysts believe that the government is using the law to rein in local television channels which have grown highly critical of its policies.

According to the bill, broadcasters in Pakistan will be banned from showing images or programming of suicide bombings, terrorists or the bodies of victims of terror attacks.

They will also be prevented from showing related material.

Further, they will not be permitted to broadcast statements by militants or extremists, or activities deemed to be connected with the spread of militancy and extremism.

The broadcaster will also be bound to assure the government that none of its programmes will promote hatred or militancy.

In addition, the law states that programmes opposing the ideology, sanctity, independence and security of the state of Pakistan cannot be broadcast.

Companies that violate the law will have their licences cancelled. They can also be fined up to 10 million rupees ($117,647; £78,740) and jailed for three years.

BBC News - Pakistan poised to vote on restricting media

 

[Desert Fox]

finally a smart move to control the media!

 

[Evil Flare]

no .. Its a Bad Move ...

We need Independent Media

 

[tanzeel736]

It was long overdue. The media has been getting out of control for a long time now and this should have been implemented earlier. The media has been causing more harm than good lately and it should definitely be required to conform to certain checks and balances.

 

[Old School]

Sounds like our media was unrestricted till now ! Restrictions can be applied to something which is free and our media lives inside the parrots' cage. What more restriction can be imposed there ? Placing it in the oven ?

 

[DGMO]

finally a smart move to control the media!

Ensuring dead bodies etc are not shown on TV I agree with. However, it's clauses like the following that can be viewed as a grey area:

The section “I” of clause 2 of the proposed bill stated that no one shall broadcast anything defamatory against the organs of the state and not broadcast any programme or discussion to speculate or influence a matter which is sub judice

That seems rather open-ended to me, and in the current climate, where the PPP is taking buckets of criticism on TV (alot of it well deserved), you have to question how draconian such a move will be.

Surely that sneaky line is intended to stifle criticism of the govt by influential TV anchors etc? Talat Hussain has already spoken out against it, and I'm sure that's just the beginning.

 

[Meengla]

I don't know the specifics yet. But, from my observation of living in America, there ARE certain lines drawn by even the most liberal countries. Freedom comes with responsibilities. When we have media giving open air to the likes of the Lal Masjid's dying Maulvi it does not serve any good purpose. Media's role in Lal Masjid was criminal: It led to the inflammation of jihadi sentiments to extreme degrees and thus to lots of 'revenge' attacks and death. Imagine if the FBI had given a live broadcast to David Koreish before the Waco raid?