UK journalists’ body flays ban on Nawa-i-Waqt
LAHORE – A representative body of journalists, in the UK, National Union of British journalists, has reacted strongly to the government of Pakistan decision to impose ban on advertisements to the Nawa-i-Waqt Group of Publications because of the group’s editorial policy.
In a statement, Joint Secretary of the NUBJ Suzan Peters has said that Press freedom is considered as the soul of democracy. She stated that the use of administrative tools against those newspapers, which differ with the official policy meant the government wanted to gag media which is a serious human right violation too.
She pointed out that the government’s move to deny ads to the Nawa-i-Waqt Group of publications would earn a bad name for the country. Keeping in view the group’s policy during all military regimes, she urged the government
ads as a ploy.
Another international organization in London The Foreign Press Association has criticized the ban.
One of the high officials while requesting anonymity has said that the government’s claim of restoring democracy in Pakistan was wrong. He showed surprise that a group of publications was being targeted by the government due to the non-conformist editorial policy.
A spokesman for the CommonÂwealth said that the Secretary General of the Commonwealth regretted over the news of imposing ban on a national daily’s advertisements.
He said that ban on the government ads did not correspond to the democratic values which would reflect badly on Pakistan’s efforts to its efforts in getting its membership restored at the cornÂing meeting of the commonÂwealth- ministers.
Source: The Nation
Date:3/7/2004
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