ISLAMABAD: Members of the National Assembly and Senate Standing Committees on Information and Broadcasting on Wednesday appreciated the draft law of the proposed Pakistan Media Regulatory Authority (PMDA) prepared by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and expressed the confidence that it would not only address the problems of the media workers but also provide protection to the general public against fake and defamatory news.
The meeting was jointly chaired by Senator Faisal Javed and Nasir Khan Musazai, MNA in the absence of Latif Javed. Faisal Javed said that he and other members would study the draft and give their proposals for its further improvement. He said that it would go a long way in improving the media regulatory mechanism in the country. Akram Cheema said that it appeared to be a comprehensive draft law which would have thousands of beneficiaries in the form of media workers, politicians and the general public.
Syma Nadeem, MNA said that there was a need for this type of regulatory law and it would prove a milestone as the people had been victims of Whatsapp and TikTok and there was no complaint redressal mechanism in present regulatory laws. Fawad Husain said that as the government wanted to create consensus on the draft he was in favour of holding an informal meeting of the committee members to build a consensus before holding a formal meeting. Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain gave a detailed briefing on the objectives and salient features of the PMDA. He said that presently seven regulatory bodies were regulating media organizations.
These bodies, he said included PEMRA, Press Council of Pakistan, Pakistan Telecom Authority, Central Board of Films Censors, Press Registrar Office, Audit Bureau of Circulation and Implementation Tribunal for Newspapers Employees. The minister said that presently media regulatory authorities were scattered and currently digital media platforms were not under any regulatory framework. He said in the modern times television, radio and newspapers all were part of the cellular mobile set and hence need a single regulatory authority. Fawad said that convergence of media bodies under PDMA was vital to regulate and develop electronic, print, digital and emerging media platforms.
He said under the present mechanism of regulation over half a dozen outdated laws and set of rules were in place which did not meet the modern day requirements of converged media. He said that existing regulatory bodies were also a burden on the national exchequer due to heavy cost of regulation and over staffing. The minister said that under the present system, redressing of public complaints takes a long time and applications for registration and grant of NOCs resulted in wastage of time. He said the proposed framework would address challenges and requirements for the convergent media environment as per global practices to make Pakistan a major global centre for multimedia information and content services. Fawad said that PMDA would be an umbrella organisation and converged regulator serving public interests as well as encouraging stakeholders. Unlike the present system which focused on policing and revenue collection, the new authority would focus on development, innovation, digital economy, training and research.
He said hassle and red tape were the hallmarks of the regulatory system but the new authority would simplify the procedures by eliminating paper work and result in ease of doing business. He said that all present laws related to media regulation would be abolished and a new legislation in consultation with stakeholders would be enacted. He said that transparency in processes would be ensured through simplification of rules and procedures.
The minister said that the authority would comprise 12 members out of which 6 would be from the private sector with technical expertise in media, art, film, law, cyber security etc. He said the PMDA would have a Press Directorate, Digital Media and Film Directorate, Electronic Media Directorate, Media Complaints Council and Media Tribunal. He said that the Media Tribunal would consist of 10 members including its chairman. The Chairman shall be a person who has been or qualified to a judge of High Court. He said that media tribunal would decide appeals against the decisions of Media Complaint Commission of Authority. At the start of the presentation he said that there were 114 satellite television channels in Pakistan out of which 31 were news and current affairs channels.
He said that there were a total of 258 FM channels in Pakistan out of which 196 were commercial and 62 non- commercial. He said that there were 4026 cable operators in Pakistan and 12 IPTV and 6 mobile TV channels. He said that there were 1192 ABC certified newspapers and 203 weeklies. He said that a consultation process with the stakeholders had been started and the concept paper shared with public and private stakeholders. He said a committee headed by Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib had been constituted for consultation with private stakeholders. Chaudhry Fawad said that the committee had held meetings with APNS, CPNE, PBA and office bearers of PFUJ and Press clubs and largely there was consensus over the establishment of PMDA. He said the media House owners had some reservations about creation of Media Tribunals and increasing fines for defamatory news. Earlier PPP Senator Mustafa Khokhar objected to the proceedings of the joint committee and said that the opposition had reservations about the draft of the proposed authority. The meeting was attended by Senators Ali Zafar, Anwar Lal Dean, Mustafa Khokar, MNAs Akram Cheema, Syma Nadeem and Aftab Jehangir.