• August 24, 2013
• Freedom of Expression

LAHORE: Representatives of civil society organisations on Friday rejected the draft Punjab Freedom of Information Bill 2013, describing it as a “disabler law” having no mention of the status of whistleblowers. Maximised time of redressal mechanism, long list of arbitrary “exemptions”, safeguarding many public domain information with the notion of “national defence or security”, “public […]

• August 24, 2013
• Freedom of Expression, Front Page

ARTICLE 19 is deeply concerned by reports that the Pakistan Ministry of Information Technology’s recently issued a statement announcing that they had ‘resolved’ the issue of the YouTube ban by installing Internet filters. Far from offering a viable solution, internet filtering poses significant threats to freedom of expression online. ARTICLE 19 reminds the Pakistani government […]

• August 23, 2013
• Freedom of Expression

YouTube is a known to all of us; we can easily say that it is the most popular social website, every imaginable video can be found on this website from ‘how to’ videos to political advertisements. The influence which YouTube has on communication can be seen through the various videos which are put on the […]

• August 23, 2013
• Freedom of Expression

ISLAMABAD: It was being speculated that YouTube may be unblocked soon after Eidul Fitr, but it may take a while before internet users in the country will once again be able to access the popular video-sharing website, it has emerged. The information technology ministry had prepared a proposal in this regard that would be presented […]

• August 23, 2013
• Freedom of Expression

In a YouTube-less Pakistan, where children and young women are punished for their freedom of expression while radical, militant societal elements are given prime time coverage A parent is told at a parent–teacher meeting that her daughter has been careless lately. When asked to describe and draw an eggplant in science class, she left the […]

• August 21, 2013
• General News

I would like to first pay tribute to Mike Deane, a journalist killed while covering the Cairo massacre. A shocking number of people, mostly supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, have been killed and injured since the Morsi government was dismissed by the Egyptian army. Thanks to our colleagues in the west, courageous journalists all, we […]

• August 20, 2013
• Freedom of Expression

KARACHI/LAHORE: The Punjab Assembly unanimously passed a resolution on Monday condemning the attack on the Express Media office in Karachi and demanded that the Sindh government arrest the culprits in no time. Two staff members were injured in the firing by four unknown armed men on August 16. One of the injured is still in […]

• August 20, 2013
• Freedom of Expression

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Right to Information Ordinance 2013, promulgated by the provincial PTI government, is a complex piece of legislation which will require time to properly analyse and digest. And, as with all such laws, good intentions will not be enough and will have to be followed by effective implementation. These caveats aside, the law […]

• August 20, 2013
• Freedom of Expression, Front Page

PESHAWAR: The recent ban on the screening of five Pashto films in the provincial capital has caused a controversy due to the government’s failure to legislate on matters related to motion pictures in the province. The producers and promoters of these films claim that they have obtained the necessary screening certificates from the Sindh Board […]

• August 19, 2013
• Freedom of Expression

IT is a testament to the rapid progress of information technology that lectures and courses by well-known educational institutes, analyses of political and social discourse, and historical accounts of relatively unknown events can be accessed through video-sharing websites such as YouTube. However, in Pakistan, because of certain sacrilegious videos purportedly threatening public order, a whole […]

• August 19, 2013
• Freedom of Expression

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Right to Information Ordinance (RTIO) was unveiled by the provincial government on Sunday. The ordinance makes it binding upon the government to set up an independent information commission and makes obstruction in access to any record a penal offence punishable by up to two years imprisonment. The ordinance, promulgated by the […]

• August 19, 2013
• Freedom of Expression, Front Page

Unidentified gunmen fired at the entrance of the offices of ‘Express’ media group in Karachi, the capital city of Sindh province on August 16, 2013, injuring the security guard and a female marketing staff member. The Express group personnel said they were not sure about the reason for the attack as they had not received […]

• August 17, 2013
• Freedom of Expression

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Home and Tribal Affairs Department on Friday banned five Pashto films and directed the police to act to stop screening of these movies, a source said.The source said the Home Department had received complaints that these films are being shown in cinemas without getting the required censor certificates. The films included […]

• August 17, 2013
• Freedom of Expression, Front Page

PESHAWAR: The government has amended its draft on the Right to Information (RTI) Ordinance, after the initial blueprint was criticised for certain inadequacies. K-P Governor Engineer Shaukatullah Khan, who signed the ordinance forwarded by the provincial government on August 13, was quoted by an official source as saying: “I have signed the ordinance because the […]