Press Council of Pakistan approves code of ethics for polls coverage
The draft, approved in the council meeting, would be sent to all newspapers, news agencies, Election Commission of Pakistan, APNS, CPNE, PFUJ, RIJU, press clubs, media houses, stakeholders and the civil society.
The meeting of the council was held under the Chairmanship of Raja Shafqat Abbasi. The members who attended the meeting included Nasir Zaidi (PFUJ), Iqbal Jafri (PFUJ), Wamiq A Zubari (APNS), Bachal Laghari (PFUJ), Nasreen Aslam Azher (Nation Commission on the Status of Women) and Yasmeen-ur-Rehman and Ayesha Ikram from the Higher Education Commission (HEC).
The council also approved the names of the heads of the inquiry commission including Asma Jehangir, Head of Inquiry Commission, Punjab; Justice Ali Aslam Jaffri, Head of the Inquiry Commission, Sindh; Justice G N Kohli, Head of the Commission, Balochistan; Justice Fazal-i-Haq Abbasi, Head of the Commission, KPK; and Justice Tariq Mehmood, Head of the Commission, Islamabad.
The council also considered the nomination of APNS and suggested that Sadiq Baloch should be replaced with some other suitable nominee as Sadiq Baloch was already member of the inquiry committee and appellate committee of the PCP.
It also approved a three-member ‘fact finding committee’ comprising Senator (R) Syed Faseih Iqbal, Editor-in-Chief of Daily Zamana and The Balochistan Times Quetta; Bachal Laghari, Bureau Chief Daily Mehran; and Salim Shahid, President Quetta Press Club Karachi, to assess the scale of violence committed against journalists in Balochistan.
The committee will visit Balochistan soon.The council urged the Finance Division to expedite the matter of supplementary grants as soon as possible as it feels handicapped while undertaking its operation.
Taking up complaints, the council reviewed suo moto notices pertaining to threats to the media freedom in various part of the country. The council endorsed the steps taken in this regard.
The council reviewed the minutes of appointment committee held on October 11, 2012 and a case filed with Islamabad High Court for regularization of employees. It also reviewed the pending complaint and after hearing directed the issuance of fresh notices to respondents for Jan 9, 2013.
It also decided to constitute a new inquiry committee consisting of Lahore and Islamabad based members.The council also approved the minutes of the 3rd meeting held on August 2, 2012 at its regional office Aiwan-e-Iqbal, Lahore.
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