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Pemra amendment bill sails through Senate, National Assembly

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1 year ago

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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Assembly on Wednesday approved the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which was retracted by the federal government earlier this week, with a majority vote.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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When PPP Delegations Meet with the Prime Minister, PPP Leadership Reveals Complete Confidence in Government Policies

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4 days ago

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The Pakistan People’s Party, according to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, is a significant ally that has consistently supported the Government in every move it has taken to boost the national economy.

Within the presence of Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, he was having a conversation with a delegation of the Pakistan People’s Party, who had visited him in Islamabad.

During the course of the conference, questions were asked about the current political climate in the country.

A proposal called the “Charter of Parliament” was submitted in the Parliament by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. The Prime Minister expressed his appreciation for the initiative, stating that it will further improve democracy and the government.

The PPP Delegation expressed their appreciation for the economic policies that the government has implemented in order to boost the economy of the country.

As a result of the PPP Delegation’s unwavering faith in the policies and initiatives of the government, the Prime Minister found this to be encouraging.

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An eight-day physical remand of PTI leaders has been approved by the ATC Islamabad. PTI leaders have been arrested.

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5 days ago

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An eight-day physical remand of PTI leaders who were detained on allegations of terrorism was authorized by the Advanced Trial Court in Islamabad.

Judge Abu Al Hasnat of the ATC made the announcement of the verdict.

Among the leaders of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) who have been taken into custody are Sher Afzal Marwat, Amir Dogar, Zain Qureshi, Nasim Shah, Ahmed Chattha, Sheikh Waqas, and Shoaib Shaheen.

An additional judicial remand of Shoaib Shaheen was also approved by the court…

Barrister Gohar, the Chairman of the PTI, was ordered to be released from the Sangjani Police Station, where he was the subject of a complaint.

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During the meeting between the MNA and the MPA, the overall political situation was also discussed.

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5 days ago

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As part of their meeting with Prime Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif, Members of the National Assembly Rashid Akbar Nowani and Punjab Assembly Saeed Akbar Nowani met.

The conference was also attended by Rana Sanaullah, who serves as the advisor to the Prime Minister on matters pertaining to political affairs.

The meeting was devoted to discussions on the subjects that are important to each of the constituent groups.

A discussion was also held during the meeting regarding the overall and political situation of the country.

An encounter took place between Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and members of the National Assembly Muhammad Siddique Khan Baloch and Abdul Rehman Kanju.

The gathering was used to have conversations on the problems that were being faced by the various constituencies.

The political climate and the overall state of affairs in the country were also topics of discussion.

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