AT last, Attorney General Khalid Jawed Khan’s assurance to the Islamabad High Court in January, that the government is prepared to review the controversial Removal and Blocking of Unlawful Online Content (Procedure, Oversight and Safeguards) Rules, 2020, has been fulfilled — in part. An inter-ministerial committee has been formed following the AG’s recommendation to the […]
SUKKUR: The investigation of journalist Ajay Kumar Lalwani’s murder has been handed over to SSP Kashmore-Kandhkot Amjad Shaikh from Sukkur Police following concerns raised by Lalwani’s father Dileep Kumar. The DIG Sukkur in his letter informed the IGP Sindh of objections raised by Lalwani’s parents for murder inquiry being conducted by the Sukkur Police. Thereby […]
ISLAMABAD—Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) has postponed a planned April 5 long march from Quetta to Islamabad because of the coronavirus pandemic. PFUJ President Shahzada Zulfiqar and Secretary-General Nasir Zaidi said that since the third COVID-19 wave was worsening and several colleagues had lost their lives because of it, the march stands postponed. PFUJ […]
PESHAWAR: Advisor to Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Science and Information Technology Zia Ullah Bangash and Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser have requested Facebook to initiate monetization for Pakistan. A statement said Asad Qaiser and Ziaullah Bangash held a video link meeting with Facebook’s Sarim Aziz, Head of Public Policy South Asia, and Sehar Tariq, […]
Islamabad: Speaking at the webinar on ‘Cyber Security Threats and Pakistan’s Response’ panellists warned that the ungoverned rapid digitisation in the country is a threat to important government and private organisations. The webinar was organised by organised by Institute of Regional Studies here Friday. The panellists observed that heavy reliance on imported hardware is increasingly […]
ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office said that Pakistan remains fully committed to the promotion and protection of human rights and urged the international community to closely monitor the situation in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and also to urge India to respect its international obligations. Giving Pakistan’s reaction to the recent US State […]
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday sought the report of inter-ministerial committee constituted to examine the social media rules. IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah, while hearing identical petitions filed against the implementation of “Removal and Blocking of Unlawful Online Content (Procedure, Oversight and Safeguards), Rules 2020” appreciated the Prime Minister’s initiative to constitute […]
MINGORA: The Swat Press Club was de-sealed on the orders of Peshawar High Court (PHC) Mingora Bench here on Thursday. A division bench of the PHC Mingora bench comprising Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim and Justice Waqar Ahmad ordered the district administration to de-seal the club. Aurangzeb Khan Advocate represented the Swat Press Club management while Assistant […]
The fate of the government’s social media regulations hangs in the balance. The second version of the rules – titled Removal and Blocking of Unlawful Online Content (Procedure, Oversight and Safeguards) Rules, 2020 – were released in November 2020 and almost immediately ran into opposition from civil society and social media companies, the latter under […]
ISLAMABAD / PESHAWAR: In compliance with an order issued by the Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Thursday, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) asked service providers to unblock access to social media platform TikTok that allows users to share short video clips. In line with the PHC judgement and provisions of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes […]
Lahore – A delegation of Lahore Press Club (LPC), led by its president Arshad Ansari, called on Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar at his office to discuss the resolution of problems of journalist colony at Harbanspura. The CM assured to early resolve the issues adding that the problems of the journalist community will be […]
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan performed poorly with respect to legal and practical protections for the right to freedom of expression of its citizens during 2020, according to a new assessment report published by the Media Matters for Democracy. The Pakistan Freedom of Expression Report 2020 was launched through a webinar on Wednesday. Speaking at the report launch, […]
It is a crude attempt at curtailing freedom of expression. The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) issued a statement the other day telling news channels to refrain from airing “unsubstantiated, judgmental and unipolar [one wonders if the writer deliberately used this term connoting persistent depressive disorder] remarks” about the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), “with […]
The government certainly passed its social media rules, titled the “Removal and Blocking of Unlawful Online Content (Procedure, Oversight and Safeguards) Rules 2020”, too quickly and without proper due diligence. The rules came as a surprise, even to major stakeholders like social media companies and digital rights foundations who complained they had not even been […]
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