PEMRA Act revisions.
FOE Link or motive by PPF
ConfirmedCase Update Status
President passes the bill on August 16.
Summary of Case
"On August 10, the Association of Electronic Media Editors and News Directors (AEMEND) has urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Federal Minister for Information Marriyum Aurangzeb to introduce necessary revisions to the Pemra Act rather than withdrawing the bill. In a press statement released by AEMEND, which was also shared on the organization's Twitter account, they advocated against the withdrawal of the bill. The statement proposed that the bill could be subject to discussion and approval after specific modifications. The press release highlighted that Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb should not have opted to retract the new PEMRA Amendments. The Pemra amendment act was formulated through collaborative discussions involving MOL, PBA, AEMEND, APNS, PFUJ, and CPNE. While the bill needed enhancements in various areas, it also introduced favorable elements. Most notably, it included substantial measures to bolster workers' rights, a proposition that AEMEND and other media organizations had previously suggested and sought to further enhance. Numerous media workers experience extended delays in receiving their salaries from certain channels, despite these channels benefiting from government advertisements. The bill suggested that government advertising should be linked to ensuring the settlement of all dues, including timely salary disbursements, for workers. Although the term ""salary"" was part of the bill, it could be modified to ""dues"" to prevent any unwarranted advantage stemming from potential confusion."
Category of Incident
Censorship
ICCS Status
ICCS Divisions: 0803-Acts related to freedom of expression or control of expression
ICCS Group: 08039-Other acts related to freedom of expression or control of expression
ICCS Class: N/A
ICCS Crime: Acts related to freedom of expression or control of expression
Reported By
Daily times
Date of incident
10
Month
August
Year
2023
Name of affected person
No person was affected
Other affected persons
Not other person affected
Name of affected organization
All media channels and organisations
Other affected organizations
No other organization was affected
Action by
By the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority
City
Nationwide
Province
Nationwide
Designation
Media Organisation
Professional category
Not Applicable
Age of victim
N/A
Marital Status
N/ACompensation Details
Amount of compensation announced by government: No compensation announced
Date of compensation announcement by government: No compensation announced
Date of compensation paid by government: No compensation announced
Amount of compensation announced by others: No compensation announced
Date of compensation announced by others: No compensation announced
Date compensation paid by others: No compensation announced
FIR Details
Was FIR registered ?: No
Court Details
Was case investigated ?: No
Court where case was presented: It is a PEMRA directive
Name of prosecuting lawyer: It is a PEMRA directive
Date of first court hearing:
Date of last court hearing:
Status of court case: It is a PEMRA directive
Journalist Union Status
PFUJ
Not required to contact
APNS
CPNE
PBA
Media Source Status
Media reports:
https://dailytimes.com.pk/1123207/president-signs-pemra-amend-bill-2023-into-law/Condemn Status
Colleague of victim
Not required to contact
Employer organization
Not required to contact
Press Club Status
Press club 1: Not required to contact
Press club 2:
Press club 3:
