“We believe the bill is an invasion on freedom of expression and critical thinking and will also spell disaster for the printing and publishing industry in Punjab that employs tens of thousands of people,” reads a petition signed by these bodies and issued to the media here on Wednesday.

The signatories included 22 publishing houses and 16 rights and civil society organisations, prominent among them are HRCP, Haqooq-i-Khalq Movement, National Commission for Justice and Peace, Progressive Academics’ Collective, Lahore and Karachi, ASR Resource Centre, Aurat March, Women Democratic Front, Women Action Forum, Progressive Students’ Collective, Authors’ Alliance, Lahore Education and Research Network, and Pakistan Kissan Rabita Committee.

They particularly objected to Sections 7 and 8 of the bill as the former empowers the Director General Public Relations (DGPR) or his nominee to raid a publishing house, book store or printing press and confiscate copies of the material the authorities deem violatory, whereas the latter makes it mandatory for all books (local or foreign; first editions or reprints) to seek the approval of the DGPR before they can see the light of the day.

The Section 8(3) enunciates that the DGPR has the power to “refuse permission to import, print or publish a book” if it is “prejudicial to the national interest, culture, religious and sectarian harmony.” The same powers will be exercised by the Muttahida Ulema Board (MUB) for books concerning religion, according to sub-section 8(4).

“It is clear that disguised as a law protecting the foundations of Islam, the bill is an attack on freedom of expression and in conflict with constitutional provisions protecting the same freedoms. We are concerned that the DGPR/MUB does not have the intellectual and physical capacity to evaluate book manuscripts.

“We are also in principle fundamentally opposed to the very idea of seeking approval from a bureaucrat/MUB prior to publishing or selling a book. Equally, we are fully opposed to the confiscatory spirit of the bill sanctioning the DGPR to raid offices and stores. This kind of power has no place in a democracy,” the petition says.

The signatories see the bill is an attack on the already-dwindling publishing industry, especially of Punjab where bookstores are fast turning into stationery shops and publishers are decreasing in number.

They instead suggested that the Punjab government devise policies supporting the publishing industry by helping create cheap paper locally. “Although the bill has gone back to the assembly for discussion, …, we want to send a strong message to the legislators that we will not accept this bill in any form. Even after the legislators address the concerns of the Shia community, the repressive and confiscatory character of the bill will remain intact in sections 7(1), 7(2), 8(1), 8(2), 8(3), 8(4) and 8(12), devised to isolate progressive and critical voices and push publishers out of business.

“If the bill is not scrapped, we reserve our rights to protest, agitate and challenge its constitutionality in order to preserve our right to freedom of expression,” it concludes.

Newspaper: Dawn

ISLAMABAD—Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) has expressed concern over the sacking of four reporters and several newsroom staffers by the management of Jehan Pakistan newspaper in Islamabad.

In a joint statement, PFUJ  President Shahzada Zulfiqar and Secretary-General Nasir Zaidi said it was a cruel decision at a time when there is widespread unemployment in the country.

They called upon the newspaper management to revert their decision.

Website: Journalism Pakistan

درخواست جمع کرانے کی آخری تاریخ جمعہ،27فروری،2020

پاکستان پریس فاوٗنڈیشن (پی پی ایف)نے پاکستان میں میڈیا کی آزادی اور حفاظت   کے فیلو شپ پروگرام کے لیے درخواستیں وصول کرنے کا اعلان کردیا۔

اس فیلو شپ پروگرام کا مقصد آزادی اظہار رائے کو فروغ دینا اور میڈیا کارکنان کو مدد فراہم کرناہے تاکہ وہ میڈیا کی آزادی اور صحافیوں کے تحفظ سے متعلق مسائل پر رپورٹس تیار کرسکیں ۔

اس فیلوشپ پروگرام میں دو ورک شاپس منعقد کی جائیں گی اور اس کے ساتھ ادارتی اور تکنیکی تعاون بھی دیا جائے گا تاکہ میڈیا کارکنان کی حفاظت پر ،اخلاقی ، قانونی ور پیشہ ورانہ صحافت کے بہتر ین معیار  کے مطابق رپور ٹس تیار کی جائیں۔منتخب افراد میں سے ہر فرد کو فیلوشپ پروگرام کے دوران چھ رپورٹس تیار کرنا ہوں  گی۔ان افراد کو زیادہ ترجیح دی جائے گی جو صحافیوں کو قتل یا زخمی کیے جانے کے مخصوص واقعات پر تفتیشی رپورٹنگ کریں۔

منتخب افراد کو سینیئر صحافیوں کی معاونت میں رکھا جائے گا جو اس فیلو شپ پروگرام کی مدت تک ان افراد کے ایڈیٹر کے فرائض انجام دیں گے۔

صحافی جو پرنٹ،ٹیلی ویژن،ریڈیو یا آن لائن میڈیا میں کم سے کم تین سال کا تجربہ رکھتے ہیں وہ اس پروگرام کے لیے درخواست دے سکتےہیں۔خواتین صحافیوں کی درخواست جمع کروانے کی حوصلہ افزائی کی جائے گی۔

بلوچستان،فاٹا،گلگت بلتستان اور آزاد کشمیر سے تعلق رکھنے والے صحافیوں کے لیےاہلیت کی بنا پر شرائط میں نرمی رکھی جاسکتی ہے۔

اس فیلوشپ پروگرام کی مدت تین ماہ ہے اور اس پروگرام میں منتخب افراد کو ساٹھ ہزار روپے(60,000)ادا کیے جائیں گے۔

،درخواست گزار کے لیے درج ذیل کاغذات بھیجنا ضروری ہی

حالیہ تصویر کے ساتھ CV

 درخواست فارم

 پروپوزل فارم

تین لنکس /شائع کردہ یا نشر شدہ رپورٹس

پر بھیجیئے۔  fellowships@pakistanpressfoundation.org درخواست

درخواستیں جمع کروانے کی آخری تاریخ جمعہ 27فروری 2020ہے۔آخری تاریخ گزرنے کے بعد موصول ہونے والی درخواستوں پر عمل نہیں کیا جائے گا۔

پروپوزل فارم کے لیے کلک کریں

درخوست فارم کے لیے کلک کریں

English translation

Last date: Thursday, February 27, 2020

Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) has issued a call for applications for Fellowship program on
Media Safety and Impunity in Pakistan.

The fellowship program aims to promote freedom of expression by providing support to media professionals to produce stories related to issues on Media Safety and Impunity.

The fellowship programs will include two capacity building workshops as well as editorial and technical support to produce reports on safety of media practitioners that meet professional, ethical and legal best practices in journalism. Each selected fellow will have to produce up to six stories during this fellowship program. Preference will be given to fellows who will commit to investigating impunity for specific cases of journalists killed or injured.

Selected fellows will be paired with senior journalist who will act as fellowship editor during the period of fellowship program.

Journalists having minimum experience of three years working for print, television, radio and online media can apply for the fellowship program.

The criteria for journalists from Baluchistan, FATA, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir may be relaxed for otherwise qualified applicants. Female journalists are encouraged to apply.

The duration of the fellowship is three months and the amount for the fellowship is sixty thousand rupees.

Applicants must send:

• Professional resume/CV with recent photograph
• Story proposal form for stories (for story proposal form click here)
• Application form (For application form click here)
• Three links/samples of published or broadcast pieces.
• Applications should be sent to fellowships@pakistanpressfoundation.org

The deadline for submitting applications is Thursday, February 27, 2020. Applications received after the due date will not be entertained.

Urdu translation

Leaders of the media industry have come together to resist a blatant government attempt at media control. All print and electronic media organisations, owner of media groups, and all factions of journalists’ unions met in Islamabad the other day where they unanimously rejected the government move to set up special media tribunals aimed at giving a formal shape to its effort to curb media freedoms, already vulnerable to pressure from advisories and other arm-twisting methods. The meeting urged the government to immediately withdraw its “anti-media decision”.

It is sad that this should come from an elected government, especially one headed by a prime minister who when in opposition was a great supporter of freedom of expression. In fact, during his recent US visit when confronted with a question about increasing restrictions on the media, Imran Khan had not only dismissed that ‘perception’ but also recalled that he was a beneficiary of the independent media’s growth, which helped him mobilise public opinion in his favour at a time his party lacked the resources to propagate its message. Now that he is in power he is expected to protect media freedoms from extra-legal pressures rather than place limits on them. But even though the idea of tribunals was rejected outright by all stakeholders, his government remains insistent on its implementation, ostensibly, to address media-related complaints and grievances. For that already in existence are various forums such as Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority’s Commission of Complaints, Press Council of Pakistan, and wage board implementation tribunal, as well as other platforms for dispute resolution and any other issue of concern. As for cases involving slander, offenders can be held to account under the defamation laws, which effectively deal with publication or broadcast, without proof, of defamatory content.

The media organisations meeting made it clear that if the government is raring for a fight with them, fight it will have. All stakeholders decided to take action to protest and resist the move. Towards that end, a standing committee comprising heads of media organisations has been formed. The government is, therefore, required to realise it has made a wrong decision and brings the issue to an end. It must also understand that freedom of expression is a core democratic value. More to the point, in any functioning democracy the relationship between the government and the media is of an adversarial nature since the role of the latter as society’s watchdog is to point to acts of omission or commission at all levels of governance. There is no concept of democracy without an independent media. In other words, the ideal of democracy will remain illusory in the absence of a free and vibrant media.

Source: Business Recorder

MUZAFFARABAD: More than four hundred journalists from different parts of Pakistan and Azad Kashmir have arrived here to take part in a “symbolic march” towards the Line of Control (LoC) on Saturday.

The march, organised by the Central Union of Journalists (CUJ), a regional body, has attracted attention of media professionals across the country.

“For almost three weeks now, India-occupied Jammu and Kashmir has been locked behind an iron curtain. What has compounded our worries is the unparalleled communication blockade that has sealed all sources of information,” said Abdul Hakim Kashmiri, an office-bearer of the CUJ.

“This situation compelled us to do something to draw the attention of the world community in general, and media fraternity in particular,” he told Dawn.

Arshad Rachyal, a former president of Pakistan Press Club UK, said he was happy that there were no divisions on the issue of Kashmir.

“The fact that the common cause of Kashmir has bridged gaps and brought rival groups and leaders on one platform is reassuring,” he said.

Talking to Dawn, Hafiz Afzal Butt, who heads his own faction of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), said the Pakistani media considered itself under a moral obligation not only to raise voice against the oppression of Kashmiris by India, but also to persuade the authorities to open up the territory for relief supplies via LoC.

“India-occupied Kashmir is facing a humanitarian crisis as life-saving drugs and other essential supplies have run out. This alarming situation demands immediate intervention by the international community and tomorrow we will highlight this need during our march,” he said.

The rally will leave Muzaffarabad at 9am on Saturday for Chakothi, 58 kilometres from Muzaffarabad. Mountains carrying Indian artillery overlook this town.

The marchers will carry two truckloads of medicines and dry ration in an attempt to pass them on to the Indian forces for the aid of people in occupied Kashmir.

“Let’s hope the Indian authorities accept these goods for the sake of besieged Kashmiris,” Abdul Hakim Kashmiri, the CUJ office-bearer, said.

Dawn

KARACHI: “The book tells you about the situation in the newsroom, the pressures, the censorship and the compromises made during reporting of events like the general election,” said Kamal Siddiqi, a former journalist and director of Centre for Excellence in Journalism at IBA, while speaking at the launch of senior journalist Nizamuddin Siddiqui’s book, Election 2018 — The Diary of a Sceptic, at the Karachi Press Club (KPC) on Thursday, exactly one year after the said elections.

“Our young generation needs to read about what has been happening in Pakistan’s history through the eyes of a journalist and people who write such books and bring things on record are like saving graces. Otherwise when designing courses for media students, we find that not much has been written about Pakistan’s journalism history and we are left with Zamir Niazi Sahib’s books to quote from,” he said.

“It is an interesting book, not abstract but a practical treatise, which should be made recommended reading for media students,” he added.

Senior journalist Zubeida Mustafa said she wanted to congratulate Siddiqui on his style of writing. “I was not in the country during last year’s general election and I used to keep abreast with happenings through Dawn.com and the details I missed I have come to learn about now through this book,” she said. “It looks at the elections through the lens of a journalist.”

She said the author’s observations were an interesting read. “He shares his view about political parties. He also talks about the army’s role, and quite openly and freely at that,” she said.

Zubeida Mustafa drew a parallel between Ayesha Siddiqa’s book Miltary Inc., and Nizamuddin Siddiqui’s work.

“He has also written about religious parties and how the Election Commission of Pakistan accepted these parties. He has not even ignored women and the role of female voters in the last elections and it is great that all these aspects have been recorded in book form,” she said.

Dr Riaz Sheikh, the dean of social sciences faculty at Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (Szabist), recalled the country’s previous elections and martial laws while appreciating the book. “This is basically a diary. And like other diaries that have recorded important moments of history such as The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, Akhtar Baloch’s diary, etc, it serves as a primary source of research.”

Senior journalist Mazhar Abbas said a story written by a journalist was like an open first information report. “You can make additions to it,” he said. “Nizamuddin Siddiqui’s book is a great source of reference as one often tends to forget things. Its conclusion is inconclusive as several questions about the 2018 elections remain unanswered,” he said. “The second edition must take the argument forward.”

The event was presided over by Dawn newspaper’s Readers’ Editor Muhammad Ali Siddiqui, who appreciated the effective use of words by the author for maximum impact. “You have to be an avid reader, especially of books, to know how to do that.”

He said young people so engrossed in their smartphones needed to cut down on screen time and read more books to get a fair idea about what happened before the elections, what happened on election day and what is going on now around them.

Speaking about his book the author Nizamuddin Siddiqui said that he had a feeling about all not being well with the elections last year so he started observing things rather closely. “We newsroom journalists have odd timings so when penning my thoughts I was also not sure where to find the time to do the research. But then I thought that the diary format suited me more,” he said.

“After sharing my first draft with a colleague, Maleeha Siddiqui, I got feedback that it sounded like reportage. Then when I showed it to Kamal Siddiqi, he encouraged me to complete it. Those who feel I have not shared my opinion or views I will tell you that my viewpoint is very much in there however subtle,” he added.

Earlier, political commentator and teacher of journalism Dr Tauseef Ahmed, who moderated the event, said instead of digging out old newspapers while doing research, students of political science and journalism can read the book. “If you missed any news stories about the 2018 elections, you can always catch up on the events that took place during those days.”

Finally, A.H. Khanzada, head of KPC’s literary committee, which organised the launch, thanked the guests.

Dawn

As a young reporter in the 90s, working with accomplished journalists like Zaffar Abbas, Idrees Bakhtiar and Talat Aslam, it was at Herald that I learned why writing in public interest is more important than any other interest. Why bringing the truth out at any cost and not hiding it out of fear or favour actually benefits our country.

Despite the most difficult time for Karachi journalists in the 1990s, especially because of the atrocities of MQM against media, there was no pressure at all from our Editor or seniors for not printing the truth. Journalists were threatened, even attacked, for speaking the truth, but the struggle continued. And when during an operation against MQM there were certain human rights violations, the same Herald did an exclusive against the action as that was truth and truth must be printed.

Though in those days the pressure was mostly from the non-state actors, even though at times backed by the state, at Herald we were never forced to self-censor our stories. Something the new generation of journalists growing under the atmosphere of curbs and “advices” would find hard to believe.

I did some of my best cover stories during that time. Like “The Creeping Coup,” a story done only months before General Musharraf overthrew Nawaz Sharif and imposed military rule. Or “Cricket in a Fix,” a comprehensive exposé of the powerful match fixing mafia and the involvement of cricketers. But never once was I asked to tone down the story. If the facts are correct and checked, if it’s in public interest, it should be printed. But maybe those were different times.

The latest attack on media that started in 2014 has not only affected journalists’ freedom to write and speak the truth, it is financially crippling those who are not ready to play ball as per the rules set for establishing Naya Pakistan.

Herald is the first major casualty of this onslaught. With advertising taking a nosedive — as a related casualty — and people turning to TV and online, survival of print media, especially magazines, had already become a huge challenge. Press curbs making journalism difficult are proving to be the last nail in the coffin, particularly for the print. If both the owners of media houses and journalists don’t get their act together, Herald closure unfortunately won’t be the last. United we stand, divided we have started falling.

The News

ISLAMABAD: The Paki­stan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) has condemned the government’s decision to impose a ban on advertisements to the Dawn Media Group and termed it a move against media freedom.

Afzal Butt, who heads his own faction of the PFUJ, and Ayub Jan Sarhandi, its secretary general, said in a statement on Friday the move was against all democratic norms and a violation of Article 19 of the constitution, which guaranteed freedom of expression.

The PFUJ office-bearers said journalists were aware of their limitations and restrictions laid down in the constitution.

“However, we believe the government is penalising the Dawn Media Group only because some quarters are not happy over the independent views aired by its newspaper and TV channel over the present state of governance,” the statement said.

The two officer-bearers said an elected government should avoid adopting “tactics of military dictators” by using advertisements as a tool to silence free speech.

“It has come to the PFUJ’s notice that some members of the government’s media team constantly interfere in internal policy matters of the newspaper by suggesting display of news reports and even suggesting headlines,” the statement said.

The PFUJ said journalists would not tolerate curbs on the media and if the government persisted in imposing restrictions, they would have no option but to exercise their right to protest at different forums.

Meanwhile the Karachi Union of Journalists (KUJ) has also criticised the government for banning advertisements to Dawn Media Group, calling it an attempt to strangulate the media.

Ashraf Khan, the KUJ president, and General Secretary Ahmed Khan Malik termed the government’s move a continuation of the Tehreek-i-Insaf’s efforts to silence the media.

“Journalists and other newspaper employees are being laid off and financial lifeline of the media was being choked,” the KUJ said.

It called for reversing the ban immediately as democracy cannot thrive in the country without a free and independent media.

Dawn

KARACHI: The Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) on Thursday expressed grave concern over a ban imposed by the federal government on advertisement to the Dawn Media Group, calling it a move against freedom of expression.

In a statement, CPNE president Arif Nizami, senior vice president Imtinan Shahid and secretary general Jabbar Khattak said the policy devised by the elected government was in fact a reflection of dictatorial mindset, which always used government advertisement as a tool against press freedom.

“The elected government should avoid such tactics. The advertisement and other curbs on media do not only affect the workers associated with the industry negatively but they also make a dent on the constitutional right of every citizen,” said the statement.

The body demanded Prime Minister Imran Khan personally intervene in the matter and lift the ban on government advertising to the Dawn Media Group.

Dawn