Media related ordinances in the offing
ISLAMABAD- The government will soon promulgate ordinances relating to access to information, establishment of an electronic media regulatory authority and a press council, a senior Press Information Department (PID) official said. Speaking at a seminar held in connection with the World Press Freedom Day, the official said the long-standing demand of the media professionals regarding access to information law would soon be fulfilled as the draft of the said ordinance in under the consideration of the government. The Law Ministry is vetting the draft law at present, he said, adding that it would be promulgated soon.
Dilating on the steps taken by the government to free the country’s electronic media, Ishfaq Gondal, the PID official, said the government was considering allowing private television and radio channels to function in the country. “Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) will supervise the functioning of private TV and radio channels once it is set up through an ordinance,” he added. PEMRA will replace the earlier proposed Regulatory Authority for Media and Broadcasting (RAMBO), which never saw the light of the day.
The issue of press council, having representation from the media, public and the government, is also likely to be taken up by the federal cabinet soon, the official said.
Source: Dawn
Date:5/4/2001
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