CPNE rejects PAPRA outright
KARACHI: The Standing Committee of the Council of Pakistan Newspapers Editors (CPNE) at an emergency session on Saturday chaired by the CPNE President, Syed Faseih Iqbal, deliberated upon the proposed bill on the formation of Press & Publications Regulatory Authority (PAPRA) by the federal government and rejected it “outright”, describing it as another subtle alternative to control the press under the euphemism of regulation.
The CPNE Secretary-General, Wamiq Zuberi, placed the draft legislation before Standing Committee members and said no consultation on it was ever held by the federal government with representative bodies of the Press, including the CPNE. They said the proposed bill was a veiled attempt at “controlling the press and not at regulating it” and therefore, must be rejected outright.
They felt that a mass campaign must be launched by the CPNE in collaboration with other bodies of print media to seek support for a stand on press freedom and rejection of proposed PAPRA Bill. It authorised the CPNE President to set up an Action Committee which should collaborate with all print media organisations, political parties, members of Senate, National Assembly & Provincial Assemblies to seek support for CPNE stand on Press Freedom and refusal by the CPNE to accept any veiled or direct attempt at controlling the print media.
The meeting, by a resolution, declared that the extent of press freedom as obtained by CPNE in cooperation with other organizations, including the APNS, will be defended by all means, and no camouflaged or direct attempt through deplorable proposed legislation such as PAPRA will be tolerated. It rejected totally all camouflaged attempts at controlling print media including proposed bill for establishing PAPRA. The different punitive clauses included in the bill militate against all norms of democratic practice and Human Rights as also press freedom. The meeting was attended by CPNE members.
Source: The News
Date:12/17/2006
” 
” 
” 
” 
