Why Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly could not legislate for journalists?
The Government of Gilgit-Baltistan had announced on 18 February 2018 that the Press Foundation Bill for Gilgit-Baltistan Journalists and Insurance Policy for Working Journalists had been prepared and newspaper advertisements would be subject to the salaries of journalists while the minimum The lower pay will be equal to the basic pay, but even after three years, none of the above claims have materialized.
Earlier on April 12, 2012, the Gilgit-Baltistan Information Department held a meeting under the chairmanship of the then Information Minister Fathullah Khan, whose agenda was the Press Foundation Bill . During the PML-N government, the then Chief Minister Hafiz Hafeezur Rahman also announced the approval of the Press Foundation Bill , but the bill could not pass through the Assembly and become a law.
For the welfare of journalists, the Press Foundation Bill was passed by the Azad Kashmir Assembly in 2003 and this law is being implemented under which accreditation of regular journalists has also been done and the board is also working in this regard. Is. Several laws related to journalists and journalism have been passed in other assemblies of Pakistan, including access to information, press foundation, journalists’ housing foundation, defamation laws, press council, etc. However, these laws have not been extended to Gilgit-Baltistan. and they have not been approved by the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly .
The assembly, which came into existence in 2009 under the Presidential Order, Gilgit-Baltistan Empowerment and Self-Governance Order, has been around for 14 years. The first assembly lasted from 2009 to 2014 in which Pakistan Peoples Party was the government and Syed Mehdi Shah was the leader of the House. The second assembly was formed in June 2015 and lasted until June 2020 in which the Muslim League-N won the majority and Hafiz Hafeezur Rehman was the leader of the House. The third assembly was held in November 2020, in which Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf got majority and Khalid Khurshid Khan was the leader of the House, who was disqualified by the court in the case of hiding facts on July 5 this year, after which Haji Gulbar Khan was elected as the leader of the House.
Under the 2009 Presidential Order, Legislative Assembly Gilgit-Baltistan was initially empowered to legislate on 63 matters. Later in 2018 again under the Presidential Order, Gilgit-Baltistan Government Order, the word legislature was deleted and the legislative powers were also extended, empowering the Assembly. So far 79 laws have been passed by this assembly, but none of these laws are related to public information and access to information.
Former president of the Union of Journalists Gilgit Khalid Hussain says that legislation related to the welfare and rights of journalists is more difficult than others. This is because when journalists are strong, public questions are strong and voices are strong, which no government likes. The Press Foundation Bill took the form of a draft during the PML-N era and was approved by the Assembly, but the Speaker of that era, Fida Muhammad Nashad, evaded the journalists and sent it to the Governor without signing, from where he pointed out these things. It was sent back to the assembly but he did not sign this bill based on unknown reasons.
Former Chief Minister Hafiz Hafeezur Rahman said in this regard that the Press Foundation Bill was a government bill and we ourselves had tabled it in the assembly but due to a conspiracy this bill could not be passed. In the beginning, the Speaker made an excuse that the authority to legislate on the affairs of journalists is the Gilgit-Baltistan Council, which is the upper forum where 6 members are elected by the GB Assembly and 6 members are elected by the federal government, while the Prime Minister is the chairman of this forum. Yes, but we clarified in the Federal Legislative List that the legislation could be passed by the GB Assembly but the Speaker still did not sign it.
Speaker Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly Nazir Ahmed Advocate says that he will legislate for journalists on all the issues that have been done in other sectors of the country. The Press Foundation will re-examine the bill which one has and approve it after completing all its provisions. The Access to Information Act will also be introduced in the Assembly very soon.
President of Press Club Gilgit Khurshid Ahmed said that there are more undergraduate journalists due to which they do not know about their rights. Here government advertisements are the lifeline of the media through which institutions are controlled and newspaper owners become a hindrance to such legislation. Journalists themselves are also responsible for the lack of legislation in favor of journalists in Gilgit-Baltistan. There are many complaints that people say that we say something else and journalists write something else. We keep trying to increase the capacity of journalists with the help of various institutions, but journalists themselves do not show interest. Most of the journalists are not professional but part-time journalists. Newspaper owners are obstructing the passage of the Press Foundation through the Assembly as the passage of the bill will impose many responsibilities on the owners.
Advocate Islamuddin, a member of the High Court Bar Association Gilgit, said that legislation is indispensable for the protection of journalists. Legislation should be made for journalists by putting forward and reviewing the laws that are in force at the national and international level.
Source: Naya Daur
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