ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry on Thursday told the Senate’s Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting that a legal draft has been prepared to establish a new media regulatory authority.
Speaking at the Committee in Islamabad, Fawad Chaudhry said that the government is planning to abolish the existing Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA).
Recommendations sought for new media regulatory authority: Fawad Chaudhry
The minister told the legal draft has been sent to all stakeholders to solicit their recommendations.
The information minister said that the government will regulate all media and no one will be able to defame anyone under the new law.
The Chairman of the Standing Committee Faisal Javed said that the government will not allow gagging of free media. He said that media is always free in a democratic set up.
Faisal Javed said that no action was taken by PEMRA when a fake news was broadcast on a TV channel regarding the Minister of State for Interior Shehryar Khan Afridi.
The Secretary Information Shafqat Jalil told the meeting that in future television ads will be allowed to run on TV after the approval of the Information Ministry. He said that an Overseeing Committee headed by the Minister for Information has been set up for supervising the content of advertisements.
