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Pemra amendment bill sails through Senate, National Assembly

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  • Amendments included with input of all stakeholders: info minister.
  • Parliamentary body will be formed for Pemra chief appointment.
  • Media houses won’t get ads if workers not paid two-month salaries.

ISLAMABAD: The Senate and the National Assembly on Wednesday approved the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which was retracted by the federal government earlier this week, with a majority vote.

Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb tabled the bill in the upper house of parliament, saying that amendments to the bill have been included with the input of all stakeholders.

The bill said a parliamentary committee will be formed for the appointment of the Pemra chairman and the Ministry of Information will propose five names for the media regulatory body chief.

The parliamentary body will comprise four National Assembly members and two members of the Senate with equal representation from the treasury and opposition benches.

The committee will send a name for the Pemra chief to the president for appointment, according to the amended law.

If the parliamentary committee could not agree on the name within 30 days, then the information ministry panel will send the bill to the prime minister who will then propose a suitable name for the post and forward it to the president, as per the bill.

The amended legislation has also replaced the word salary for media workers with dues.

Addressing the Senate session, the information minister said earlier there was no platform for media workers to resolve their issues.

The federal minister said the bill will ensure financial security for media workers as the government will not grant ads to those media houses that will not pay the dues to journalists for consecutive two months.

“Three clauses have been inserted in the amendment bill. There was room for change and improvement in the bill.”

Aurangzeb said the definition of misinformation and disinformation has been redefined in the amended bill.

Consultations were held with various journalistic organisations before the passage of the bill, the minister said, adding that media houses will not get government ads if they do pay minimum wage to their workers.

Moreover, the media houses violating laws related to wages can be imposed a fine of Rs10 million.

Earlier the bill was withdrawn after journalist associations expressed concerns over the legislation.

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The PPP and PML-N will confer on power-sharing arrangements in Punjab today.

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The coordination committees of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) are scheduled to convene today at the Governor’s House in Lahore to deliberate on power-sharing arrangements in Punjab.

The PPP delegation would comprise Punjab Governor Sardar Saleem Haider, Raja Pervez Ashraf, Makhdoom Syed Ahmed Mahmood, Nadeem Afzal Chan, Hassan Murtaza, and Ali Haider Gilani.

Ishaq Dar, Azam Nazir Tarar, Rana Sanaullah, Malik Muhammad Ahmed Khan, and Maryam Aurangzeb will represent the PML-N.

The conference will discuss local issues in Punjab and offer a forum for the PPP to express its concerns over its collaboration with PML-N in the province.

Both parties seek to fortify their partnership and optimize governance techniques in Punjab.

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Sheikh Rasheed says PTI and government negotiations won’t provide any results.

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Sheikh Rasheed voiced his worries about the nation’s ongoing political dilemma while speaking outside the Anti-Terrorism Court.

According to Sheikh Rasheed, a committee was established to negotiate, but the process has not produced any tangible results. In order to emphasize the seriousness of the situation, he said, “Political conditions are extremely bad.”

He made the joke, “Even after war, if negotiations fail, then it will all come down to judo karate,” in reference to the next steps.

“Everyone there prays for Pakistan’s betterment,” Sheikh Rasheed, who had returned from Saudi Arabia, said. He emphasized the necessity for the nation’s circumstances to improve and stabilize.

Assad Qaiser, a former speaker and PTI leader, had earlier called on Speaker Ayaz Sadiq of the National Assembly to discuss the official start of talks with the government.

The two leaders shared their opinions on bringing parties together on matters of national importance and reducing political tensions and conflict.

“I will persuade my people, you persuade the hardliners in your party,” Ayaz Sadiq said to Assad Qaiser.

The party’s founder is in jail, and the PTI leadership has asked to meet with him. “We will continue to confer with him,” Assad Qaiser declared.

Earlier, PTI leader Shaukat Yousafzai stated that if the discussions don’t begin, a campaign of civil disobedience will begin on December 14.

Speaking to the media Regarding the meetings, Yousafzai claimed that the government ministers were making insincere remarks.

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Bushra Bibi maintains bail as the IHC concludes the FIA’s petition.

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The Islamabad High Court (IHC) conducted a hearing about the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) plea for the revocation of Bushra Bibi’s bail.

The court, led by Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, rejected the FIA’s petition during the hearing.

Judicial Proceedings

Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb sought information regarding Bushra Bibi’s location, to which her attorney, Barrister Salman Safdar, affirmed her attendance in court.

The judge urged the counsel to regard the matters with gravity, underscoring the necessity of adherence to trial protocols.

The court sought details about instances where Bushra Bibi had been exempted from attending trial hearings and clarified that if the High Court grants bail and the accused fails to appear, the trial court holds the authority to cancel the bail.

Justice Aurangzeb assured that such actions would not amount to contempt of the High Court’s order.

Based on these considerations, the court closed the proceedings and dismissed the FIA’s plea.

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