Connect with us

Politics

Pemra amendment bill sails through Senate, National Assembly

Published

1 year ago

on

  • 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Assembly on Wednesday approved the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which was retracted by the federal government earlier this week, with a majority vote.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Earlier the bill was withdrawn after journalist associations expressed concerns over the legislation.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest News

Session of the Balochistan Assembly: The Assembly denounces recent acts of terrorism

Published

5 days ago

on

By

In a resolution, the Balochistan Provincial Assembly vehemently denounced the terrorist acts on August 26.

Deputy Speaker Ghazala Gola presided over the assembly session, which took place in Quetta.

The resolution, proposed by Mir Ali Madad Jatak, vehemently denounced the despicable terrorist assaults that targeted defenseless individuals.

The Resolution required that anyone responsible for terrorist incidents face consequences from the law.

Continue Reading

Latest News

Rana Sanaullah claims that CJP Qazi Faez Isa rejected the extension.

Published

6 days ago

on

By

Neither the constitutional amendment nor the extension of the Chief Justice have the necessary number of votes. As a constitutional modification is the purview of Parliament, we ought to have done it if we had the necessary numbers.

It’s evident that CJP Qazi Faez Isa won’t take no for an answer. He said it would be acceptable to extend the age limit for everyone when he discussed this with the Attorney General and the Law Minister.

Rana Sanaullah stated that in terms of politics, they are working with Maulana Fazlur Rehman rather than supporting him.

Regarding his role in appointing the Army Chief and obtaining desired posts, Lt. Gen. (retired) Faiz Hameed has been accused. Furthermore, he is charged with utilizing PTI for these objectives. He could not have acted alone if these charges are true, according to Sanaullah; the PTI founder would have also been involved.

Continue reading: Govt promises tough action over CJP Isa smear campaign.

“WhatsApp conversations between the two on May 9th may surface after retirement, and individuals who helped them communicate may later speak out,” the statement reads.

“Former COAS Qamar Javed Bajwa never asked for an extension in our presence,” Rana Sanaullah stated in response to a query posed during the interview. It was never mentioned by Shehbaz Sharif that the former COAS had requested a delay.

In addition, he refuted reports that Ijaz Amjad, the father-in-law of Qamar Javed Bajwa, and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif met in London.

Continue Reading

Latest News

PM meets with Interior Minister and CM Balochistan.

Published

2 weeks ago

on

By

Take all necessary action to enhance Balochistan’s law and order situation, per Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s directive.

During his visit to Islamabad, he spoke with Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi.

The PM received a thorough briefing on the security and general state of affairs in Balochistan from the Chief Minister of that province.

The prime minister spoke on the occasion, calling the terrorist assaults in Balochistan that occurred yesterday cowardly and unjustifiable.

By risking their lives, he claimed that our courageous Security Forces had thwarted the terrorists’ plans.

A directive to detect terrorists and take decisive action against them was also issued by the prime minister.

Continue Reading

Trending