Journalists in Pakistan rue diminishing freedom of information, call media 'state-owned'

Journalists associated with several Pakistani media organisations have started raising their voices against the collapse in the freedom of Information in the country and lamented that they have become victims of 'fake news'.  A series of comments were delivered during a webinar on Thursday titled 'Fighting disinformation and supporting independent media in Pakistan'.

While discoursing about the Right to Information, senior journalist Wajahat Masood stated that Pakistan should first make sure that it is carried out across the state. Masood said, "Our state made several laws just because they needed favours from international orders. The intent behind that was not the implementation of the law," reported Geo News. 

"Pakistan's mainstream media has become PTV 2.0"

Speaking on the state of Pakistan's mainstream media, Masood said, "The mainstream media of Pakistan had become PTV 2.0. (Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV), the Pakistani state-owned broadcaster)"

Another Journalist and Columnist Kunwar Khuldune Shahid said that the role of media is to filter out excessive information, nonetheless, journalists are not allowed to do it the way it is meant to be done, due to the power structure. "The role of a journalist has transformed in the digital era. Media is no longer just limited to accessing and sharing information but also to filter excessive information. Unfortunately, in Pakistan, we have a fixed template dictated by powers that be, where information has to be adjusted to a predetermined reality and not the other way around," Shahid said.

Journalists are largely affected due to fake news, says broadcast journo

A broadcast journalist Nayyer Ali said that journalists are the ones who are largely affected due to fake news. Ali maintained that the social media platform is used to create agendas against journos through fake news. Ali also pressed the need to ensure the implementation of RTI in its true sense.

Report reveals Pakistan's low level of 'freedom of speech'

On the other hand, renowned Writer Mehmil Khalid spotlighted an evaluation report 'Pakistan Freedom of Expression Report 2020' by Media Matters for Democracy (MMfD) and said that the country performed poorly in all the indicators that determine free speech and that the COVID-19 pandemic further intensified the digital censorship in Pakistan.

According to the report, Pakistan scored 30 points out of 100 on the assessment report index, which experts say explains that the government has placed restrictions on free speech while barring people talk particularly about the pandemic and such related pieces of information.

Scribes to demonstrate against 'unconstitutional' media law

In the meantime, the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) on Thursday announced it would hold a long march in the country against the proposed media legislation that has been termed 'unconstitutional' by several media bodies in Pakistan.

The developments came after the Imran Khan-led government proposed the Pakistan Media Development Authority (PDMA) bill to allegedly curb freedom of speech and expression in the country. The march will be held from Quetta to Islamabad in early November, Dawn reported.

"The journalist fraternity considers the bill a draconian piece of legislation and rejects it in its entirety," PFUJ Secretary General Nasir Zaidi said.

Inputs: ANI

Image: PTI/REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE