State still not ready to recognise parliamentary system: Raza Rabbani

ISLAMABAD: Former chairman Senate Senator Mian Raza Rabbani said on Tuesday the State was still not ready to recognise the parliamentary system. “What Constitution are we talking about as I do not see the Constitution of 1973 enforced. Only the law of the State is being implemented,” he said while speaking at a seminar on the eve of the “World Right To know and Access To Information Day” organised jointly by the National Press Club and Rawalpindi-Islamabad Union of Journalists with Parliamentarians Commission for Human Rights, at the National Press Club, on Tuesday.

The seminar participants said that there are laws in the country regarding the right to information but these were not being implemented and this right was denied on the pretext of British-era Official Secret Law.

Addressing the seminar, former chairman Senate senator Mian Raza Rabbani said a petition has been filed in the Supreme Court for the Presidential System. “Today, the Official Secrets Act is the constitution of this country and not the 1973 Constitution,” he said.

He said the ruling elite were moving ahead with its objectives. Senator Mian Raza Rabbani said the institutions were deliberately dismantled and the faces of civilians were brought to the fore. “References were filed against judges while chief secretaries and IG police were being replaced frequently, Pakistan Media Regulatory Authority was being brought for the media and the Question-Hour in the Parliament turned into a joke,” he said.

The former chairman Senate was of the opinion that everything had been done by the State as first the PPP, N-League were used and now the PTI was being used. “Whether the Afghanistan issue and IMF were discussed in Parliament, we are talking about Article 19-A of the Constitution,” he said.

Senator Mian Raza Rabbani asked what the direction of their struggle was and what forces were they facing. “Unfortunately, the history of Pakistan has been that when a political party came, it was becoming a prisoner of the State as there were limits on its freedom of working,” he said.

The former chairman Senate said there was talk of an electronic voting machine and it was being said that a delegation from Russia has come to see the voting machine but the opposition in Russia had also opposed it due to rigging. Germany also got rid of it.

He said it was said that they could summon the joint sitting of both the houses for legislation on Electronic Voting Machines. “But the opposition will oppose the EVM,” he said. Senator Mian Raza Rabbani said the political workers will stand with the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists in their struggle, which starts from November this year.

Chairman Senate’s Committee on Information Senator Faisal Javed said Fawad Chaudhry and Farrukh Habib had an idea regarding the PMDA and there was no draft in this regard, so the decision will be taken after consultation with all stakeholders.

He said Fake News was a big problem and it was being talked about all over the world. “Legislation regarding Fake News should be given priority,” he said.

He said here were laws for the print media but not for the electronic media, so there was a need for legislation for the electronic media also. “Is it necessary to create a Pakistan Media Development Authority or to strengthen the existing laws?” he asked.

Senator Faisal Javed said digital media was now a part of it, so there was a need for legislation for it also.

He said Prime Minister Imran Khan will never restrict freedom of the press and freedom of expression. He said all the stakeholders were sitting in the Senate Committee on Information and now we will consult with them again regarding electronic voting machine.

Senator Faisal Javed said holding of free, fair and transparent elections was the responsibility of the Election Commission of Pakistan. “No election has been transparent since 1970 and it is inevitable to bring an electronic voting machine,” he said.

He said Imran Khan brought a neutral empire and also dismissed 20 MPAs. “Imran Khan was bringing an electronic voting machine to improve the electoral system, which would be better for the country and people,” he said.

Senator Irfan Siddiqui of the PMLN asked if we lived in a state where we were getting freedom of press, right to know and access to information. “I was picked up from the house in the middle of the night and had a pen in my hand and I was wearing slippers and was handcuffed, the magistrate heard the case under the crime I was arrested, then I was sent to jail,” he said.

He said he approached the high court. “To this day, I have not been told why I was arrested,” he said. Senator Irfan Siddiqui said he asked the question in the Senate how many vehicles were bought by the present government but his question was not answered yet. He said the biggest fake news is that we have a Constitution, there is democracy in the country, there is rule of law. “No one will support you on about what is written in the Constitution and law,” he said.

Chairman Parliamentarians Commission for Human Rights Riaz Fatyana said that we have to abide by the Right to Information Act as basic human rights. He said the Secret Act, which came from the British and while the Right to Information Law came in 2017. “There are three pillars of the State, the executive, the judiciary and the parliament all think that they are free,” he said. Fatyana stressed on the need for reforms in judiciary and police.

Secretary General Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists Nasir Zaidi said that they were getting the rights given to them under Article 19A of the Constitution unless the civil-military relations and civilian supremacy in the country were strengthened. “We are the stakeholders and we have made it clear that if the PMDA is not withdrawn, our struggle will continue. He said here is censorship in the country, there is a media martial law in the country, programs of senior journalists have gone off-air. “Who are the forces that order that such and such an article cannot be published,” he questioned.

He said hundreds of journalists have been laid off in the current era and the Wage Board Award was not being implemented and salaries of journalists and media workers were being reduced. Nasir Zaidi said the right to information was not given happily but under international pressure. “If you want access to information in this country, you have to struggle. We are going to have a long march in support of our demands which will start from Quetta,” he said.

Former president PFUJ Afzal Butt said that their first demand was for workers’ rights. “Since 2017, the salaries of journalists have not been increased but their salaries have been reduced by 40pc,” he said.

Senior journalist Hamid Mir said there is a difference between Article 19 and Article 19A and the facts are that there is a lot of pressure on Pakistan due to Article 19A. He said after the ordinance came in Musharraf era in 2002, the law was passed by the National Assembly while the provincial assemblies have already passed the law, but it remains to be seen to what extent it is being implemented. He said when a citizen applied to the Senate Secretariat, he was told that this law does not apply to us. “Every citizen of Pakistan has the right to obtain information under Article 19A of the Right to Information Act,” he said.

He said under the Official Secrets Act, it is said that we cannot provide information. “This law was enacted in the British era and whenever any citizen seeks information under this Act, it is said the information could not be given under the Official Secrets Act,” he said.

Editor The News Rawalpindi/Islamabad Aamir Ghauri said the duty of journalists was to get access to information and to give it to the people who have to decide whether promises made by the government with them were fulfilled or not. He said journalists observe inflation and then pass on the information to the people who react to it. He said journalists have access to information and pass on to the people, who have to decide whom they vote in the next elections and also to decide whether whom they vote come up to their expectations on not.

He said though the law of right to information was in place but its implementation was not. “The right to get information and access to information was not only the right of journalists but also of the people,” he said.Senior journalist and Resident Editor Dawn Islamabad Fahad Hussain said that an information commission has been set up for the right to information and has a lot of power, but there is a problem when it comes to the houses of power. He said though the law has been passed yet the government departments were not ready to share information and Tosha Khana case is an example of it.

He said no matter how many laws are made for the freedom of press but when it comes time to put it into practice, power comes to the fore. “When the same government is in the opposition, it will be the biggest supporter of freedom of the press and freedom of expression,” he said.

President National Press Club Shakeel Anjum said that in the current situation, the programmes of those journalists who spoke of democracy and human rights were not allowed on-air. Secretary General RIUJ Tariq Virk, while welcoming the participants to the seminar, said thousands of our colleagues were unemployed during the tenure of the present government.