PAKISTAN MEDIA MONITOR – July 2023

A monthly report on trends relating to state of journalism and media rights, policies and practices

Tracking:

Media related laws, policies and regulations

The state of media professionalisms

The state of media economy

Threats and attacks against journalists and information practitioners

Vol. 3, No. 7 – July 2023 Edition

Produced by Freedom Network – www.fnpk.org

SECTION 1: Media related laws, policies, regulations, mechanisms

• Freedom of expression (FOE)
• Right to information (RTI), access to information (ATI)
• Federal and provincial governments (relevant ministries and departments)
• Media related regulators (PPC, PEMRA, PTA)
• Regulatory issues related to print, electronic and digital media

Excise director fined for violating Right to Information Act

Date: July 9, 2023 – Source: The News

The Punjab Information Commission (PIC) fined Rs50,000 to the Excise Headquarters Director for not disclosing information regarding transport expenses used by the Excise DG during 2021-2022.

PIC deplores no response on RTI requests from the Lahore High Court

Date: July 14, 2023 – Source: The News

The Punjab Information Commission (PIC) said the attitude of the Lahore High Court (LHC) towards implementation of access to Information Law was deplorable. The commission said that the LHC had not responded with requests made according to the Constitution and law to provide information.

Changes to electronic, print media laws tabled in National Assemby

Date: July 21, 2023 – Source: Dawn

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Murriyum Aurungzeb tabled the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Amendments) Bill 2023 and the Press Council of Pakistan (Amendments) Bill 2023 during the farewell session of the National Assembly.

Parliamentary panel unanimously approves PEMRA Amendment Bill, 2023

Date: July 22, 2023 – Source 1: Dawn, Source 2: The News, Source 3: Associated Press of Pakistan (APP)

The National Assembly Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting unanimously approved the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) Amendment Bill, 2023.

SECTION 2: The state of media professionalisms

• Media independence issues
• Public interest journalism practices and challenges
• Ethical journalism issues
• The state of thematic journalism
• Community-focused media
• Misinformation / disinformation / fake news

Punjab government to crackdown on ‘obscenity’ in theatre plays

Date: July 2, 2023 – Source 1: Express Tribune, Source 2: Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF)

Punjab Information and Culture Secretary Ali Nawaz Malik said that the Punjab government had decided to take punitive action against theatre owners, producers and artists who allow and perform obscene acts during plays.

‘Money Back Guarantee’: Stereotyping Pakistan’s Christian community

Date: July 2, 2023 – Source: Dawn

Human rights activists condemned makers of Pakistani film ‘Money Back Guarantee’ for stereotyping and insulting the country’s Christian community, both in dialogues uttered by some characters and through the depiction of some ‘props’.

Film finance council, fund to be set up under government’s new policy

Date: July 10, 2023 – Source: Dawn

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Murriyum Aurungzeb said the government was formulating a film finance council and a fund will be established, while the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) will also give relief to the cinema industry.

Media asked to highlight women’s issues

Date: July 11, 2023 – Source: Dawn

Speakers at a media coalition meeting organized to mark the World Population Day agreed that media in Pakistan should highlight issues to remove all forms of discrimination against girls, in terms of diet, education and healthcare.

PEMRA bill altering definitions of disinformation unveiled

Date: July 21, 2023 – Source: Dawn

According to the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Amendments) Bill 2023, disinformation and misinformation has been added to the definitions in order to provide legal measures to provide challenges of false, misleading, manipulated, created or fabricated information.

SECTION 3: The state of media economy

• Economic landscape of media industry
• Impact of Covid-19 on media resilience and sustainability
• Government and private advertising for media industry
• Advertising sector and its interface with media industry
• Business viability and sustainability of media
• Wages, salaries and arrears of journalists and media practitioners

Journalists to get free parking in Karachi

Date: July 13, 2023 – Source: Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF)

The Karachi mayor Murtaza Wahab announced the abolition of charged parking fee for all journalists within the limits of Karachi’s city administration. He also announced increasing the yearly grant reserved for the Karachi Press Club (KPC).

Senate panel briefed on plan to collect Rs15 radio fee in electricity bills

Date: July 21, 2023 – Source 1: The News, Source 2: Express Tribune, Source 3: The Nation

The Ministry of Finance informed the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenues that the information ministry had prepared a summary for increasing television and radio license fees from Rs35 to Rs50 and will be collected through payment of electricity bills.

Prime Minister to announce health insurance scheme for journalists

Date: July 25, 2023 – Source 1: Dawn, Source 2: Business Recorder (BR)

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Murriyum Aurungzeb said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will formally launch a health insurance card scheme for working journalists across Pakistan.

SECTION 4: Threats and attacks against media and information practitioners, including online

• Murders and killings
• Kidnappings and abductions
• Arrests and detentions
• Threats – verbal and written
• Harassment and intimidation – offline and online
• Surveillance, hacking and data breaches
• Legal cases for journalism-related work or free speech
• Impunity of crimes against journalists
• Censorship

PTI chief blames military for journalists’ abduction during his government’s tenure

Date: July 4, 2023 – Source: Dawn

In an interview aired on MSNBC, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan blamed the military for the alleged abductions of journalists and media workers during his tenure as prime minister.

Police get another chance to recover missing anchorperson

Date: July 6, 2023 – Source 1: Dawn, Source 2: Business Recorder (BR)

The Lahore High Court (LHC) once again gave an opportunity to police authorities for the recovery of anchorperson Imran Riaz Khan whose whereabouts are unknown following his release from jail.

Petition against PEMRA directive for media ‘boycott’ of PTI dismissed

Date: July 8, 2023 – Source: Dawn

The Sindh High Court (SHC) dismissed a petition challenging the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority’s (PEMRA) directives to private television channels to ban the coverage of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and its chairman Imran Khan.

Newspaper reporter goes missing in Karachi

Date: July 9, 2023 – Source 1: Dawn, Source 2: The News

Syed Muhammad Ansari, a reporting working for Daily Jang, went missing after being allegedly picked up from a residential compound in Karachi by police and men in plain clothes.

Missing reporter returns home

Date: July 11, 2023 – Source 1: Dawn, Source 2: The News, Source 3: Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF)

News reporter Syed Muhammad Ansari returned home a day after he was allegedly picked up by police and men in plain clothes in Karachi. After his return, the journalist said he was blindfolded and his abductors questioned him about his profession.

Vexing question costs journalist his job

Date: July 11, 2023 – Source: Express Tribune

Asking a vexing question regarding ‘diminishing space for freedom of speech’ and curbs on media in Pakistan to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif apparently cost a journalist, Azam Chaudhry, his job at state-run Pakistan Television Corporation (PTVC).

Government denies sacking journalist for questioning the PM on press freedom

Date: July 11, 2023 – Source: Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF)

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Murriyum Aurungzeb said that journalist Azam Chaudhry – who had claimed that he was ‘taken off air’ for questioning Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif – was never an employee of the state-run Pakistan Television Corporation (PTVC).

Fighting the erasure of anti-Shia violence in Pakistan

Date: July 19, 2023 – Source: Himal

The mainstream media in Sunni-dominated Pakistan habitually obscures or erases violence against marginalized communities, including Shias. In response to media’s blinkered coverage, activists from persecuted groups have set up different digital initiatives document violence against their communities.

Photojournalists protest ‘unfair’ treatment

Date: July 20, 2023 – Source: Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF)

The Lahore Association of Photojournalists condemned the ‘discriminatory’ treatment towards their members during the inauguration of the Asia Cricket Cup Trophy ceremony. It was reported that Lahore-based photojournalists were not invited while television cameramen were able to cover the event.

Film’s release delayed in Punjab over ‘objectionable content’

Date: July 22, 2023 – Source 1: The News, Source 2: Punjab Today, Source 3: The Guardian

The launch of Hollywood movie Barbie was delayed in Punjab over ‘objectionable content’. Officials said the film would be reviewed and needed clearance from the provincial board that censors scenes violating Pakistan’s social, cultural and religious values.

HRCP expresses alarm over amendments to PEMRA law

Date: July 22, 2023 – Source 1: Dawn, Source 2: The News

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) expressed concern that the proposed PEMRA Amendment Act, 2023 assigned the regulator the role of disseminating what it terms ‘authentic’ news in a bid to curb disinformation.

Journalist bodies reject PEMRA bill

Date: July 25, 2023 – Source 1: The News, Source 2: Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF)

All representative bodies of the journalists during a consultative meeting chaired by the Karachi Press Club (KPC) president rejected the PEMRA Amendment Bill, 2023 and demanded complete reconstitution of the media regulator as recommended by the two-member media commission.

Imran Khan challenges media coverage ban

Date: July 25, 2023 – Source: Dawn

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan approached the Lahore High Court (LHC) and submitted a writ petition challenging a de facto ban on the coverage of all material relating to him and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) on electronic media.

75 journalists reported cyber harassment during 2022

Date: July 25, 2023 – Source: Dawn

The Digital Rights Foundation (DRF) received 75 complaints from journalists and media practioners regarding online harassment, threats and hacking attempts during 2022. The complainants included 40 males, 34 females and one trans person.

Fact-check: Censor board cleared Barbie but Punjab government halted screening

Date: July 26, 2023 – Source: The News

Contrary to viral information posted on social media platforms, it was the Punjab government that halted screening of film Barbie for airing ‘pro-LGBT content’ after the Punjab Censor Board (PCB) had cleared it for uninterrupted screening in the province.

Punjab government yet to allow Barbie’s screening

Date: July 26, 2023 – Source: Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF)

The Punjab government is yet to allow the screening of film Barbie in the province despite the issuance of a no-objection certificate (NOC) by the Punjab Film Censor Board (PCB).

Lahore High Court disposes of Imran Khan’s plea against media coverage

Date: July 27, 2023 – Source 1: Dawn, Source 2: Business Recorder (BR)

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan withdrew a petition against a de facto ban on his coverage on news channels after the Lahore High Court (LHC) directed his counsel to approach the media regulatory body’s council of complaints first.

OBJECTIVES: This series of monthly report aims to:

• Monitor the state of policies, regulations and mechanisms governing the media sector in Pakistan; the state of freedom of expression and right to information environment in the country and how these interfaces with media freedoms allowed or restricted via media regulations governed by the print, electronic and internet regulators.
• Track the state of media professionalisms in the country including ethical and public interest journalism practices and challenges, and the challenges of misinformation, disinformation and fake news phenomena.
• Follow the changing economic dynamics of the media industry and how they impact the business viability and sustainability of media and exploitation of media staff in lieu of their wages and arrears.
• Scrutinize threats and attacks against media and information practitioners, the state of impunity of crimes against journalists and efforts to provide justice for those aggrieved and distressed.

INFORMATION SOURCES: This report monitors, among others, the following sources of information:

• Government: Federal and provincial cabinets
• Ministries: Related ministries, including Information and Broadcasting, Information Technology (IT) and Telecom, Human Rights, Science and Technology, Commerce and Industry, etc.
• Legislatures: Senate, National Assembly, provincial assemblies, relevant standing committees
• Regulators: Pakistan telecommunications Authority (PTA), Pakistan Electronic Media regulatory Authority (PEMRA), Press Council of Pakistan (PPC), State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), etc.
• Global organizations: UN/Unesco, International Media Support (IMS), Reporters Without Borders (RSF), International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Amnesty International (AI), Human Rights Watch (HRW), etc.
• National organizations: Digital Rights Foundation (DRF), BoloBhi, Media Matters for Democracy (MMFD), Institute for Research, Advocacy and Development (IRADA), Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), etc.
• Media: Dawn, The News, Express Tribune, The Nation, Pakistan Today, The Friday Times, etc.
• Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, etc.
• Local networks: Journalists Safety Hubs Network, Alliance on Diversity & Pluralism in Media, etc.
• Any other open public information sources.