Media joint action body thanks President Alvi for signing PEMRA Amendment Bill 2023

The media joint action committee (JAC) has thanked President Dr Arif Alvi for formally approving and signing the PEMRA Amendment Bill 2023, Geo News reported on Thursday.

On Tuesday (August 15), President Alvi signed the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2023, according to a press release issued by the President's House.

The media joint action committee represents the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE), Association of Electronic Media Editors and News Directors (AEMEND), All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS), and Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA).

"We appreciate President Alvi's understanding of the need for these amendments, which are a first step towards making PEMRA independent, defining the often misused term 'Fake News, ensuring that electronic media workers get paid on time, appointment of Chairman PEMRA by the Parliament instead of the Government and partially addressing the long pending demands of electronic media to rationalise the terms of license," said the committee in its statement.

The committee lauded the passage of the bill and declared it "a step in the right direction." It said, "Although there is still a long way to go to ensure freedom of speech and a free media, the current bill is a step in the right direction."

The President House's press release said the bill has been approved under Article 75 of the Constitution and has now changed into an act.

Before signing the bill, President Alvi assured media workers and the journalist community of his support for the PEMRA bill, saying that it had brought improvements to the existing media law.

President Alvi also appreciated the collective efforts of the media community for introducing amendments to the PEMRA law, especially to protect the rights of media workers.

He said that the linking of government advertisements with the payment of dues to electronic media employees would help address their issues while also discussing various aspects of the bill with the visiting delegation. He also added that the amendment bill had brought improvements to the existing media law.

The bill

Last week, the bill was approved by the upper and lower houses of parliament after the federal government withdrew it following journalist associations’ concerns.

The then-information minister, Marriyum Aurangzeb, tabled the bill in the Senate, which was later introduced in the National Assembly, saying that amendments to the bill had 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. Moreover, 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.