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Bringing all media under one umbrella does not seem like a constitutional move, for not only does the\u00a018th<\/sup>\u00a0Amendment\u00a0bring press-related laws under the ambit of the provincial governments, this also reduces the effectiveness of\u00a0Article 19\u00a0of the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of the press. Additionally, nowhere in the world do we see instances of print and digital publications being brought under the same domain that monitors electronic media. In the presence of a code of ethics and self-regulatory laws such as the\u00a0Press Council Ordinance\u00a0for print media and the\u00a0Cybercrime Act\u00a0for digital media, establishing the PMRA can only be termed an unnecessary new tool created to limit freedom of the press.<\/p>\n This also includes the proposition that licenses will require renewal every year, which means that publications may self-censor or not report against the status quo in fear of their licenses being cancelled. After all, constituting a body to regulate all media without taking the respective stakeholders into the loop clearly indicates we are moving towards the eras of\u00a0Ziaul Haq\u00a0and Ayub, when the state had complete control over the press.<\/p>\n A history of media suppression<\/strong><\/p>\n Pakistan\u2019s media has been facing curbs since the creation of Pakistan. In 1948, two months after the death of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the\u00a0Public Safety Ordinance\u00a0was promulgated which resulted in the closure of dozens of newspapers. Then the PPO was brought in, which allowed Ayub to ban news agencies and arrest dissenting journalists.\u00a0Zulfikar Ali Bhutto\u00a0was no different, and his \u2018democratic\u2019 government also saw the closure of newspapers and the arrests of journalists.<\/p>\n However, it was Zia\u2019s regime that can be termed the lowest period for Pakistan\u2019s journalists, for not only did Zia enforce a more conservative and far-right mindset, he also brought the Revised Press and Publication Ordinance (RPPO), which included draconian amendments to the PPO. This was used to prosecute publishers for going with a narrative that did not fall in line with his regime. Even in the 90s, when\u00a0Benazir Bhutto\u00a0and Nawaz Sharif were in power, laws were used to restrict and exploit the press in order to gain vested political interests.<\/p>\n It was mainly during the era of General\u00a0Pervez Musharraf\u00a0in 2002, when the Pakistan Electronic Media Authority\u00a0(PEMRA) was formed and private TV and radio channels were given licenses, that a form of dissent and press freedom was finally an option in Pakistan. Under this era, both electronic and print media flourished until the government began to work to\u00a0rein it back\u00a0in.<\/p>\n The rise of digital media also paved the way for a more pluralistic society and gave the masses another option to raise their voices, which remained unheard on mainstream media. The media in Pakistan has never been free, and it has always paid the price for whatever freedom it enjoys.<\/strong>\u00a0During all our darkest periods of dictatorships and elected authoritarians, there were always some journalists and papers who fulfilled their obligations and presented the facts, and also suffered the consequences of doing so.<\/p>\n Now that we are once again witnessing state control over mass media, it is easy to see why most people are concerned, given our controversial past. After all, it is an old trick to try and control the media by hurting it financially and then gradually adding shackles in the name of regulation, national interest, ethical journalism and so on.<\/p>\n Questions for the PTI government<\/strong><\/p>\n The question has to be asked: why did the\u00a0PTI government\u00a0not show any hate for the media while it was in the opposition? Why did it then not complain about ethical or factual journalism? Why did it not propose any legislation in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) assembly \u2013 where it was in power \u2013 to abolish the advertisement rates for print and electronic media in order to save the national exchequer money? Most importantly, why is the PTI trying to restrict the media now, when the same media is partially behind its gradual rise to power?<\/p>\n Perhaps the government and other institutions need to understand the simple fact that it is not possible to restrict information in today\u2019s age, and doing so only leads to more dissent, as witnessed during the\u00a0Arab Spring.<\/p>\n Had the PTI wanted to regulate the media for the sake of better journalism, then it would have consulted the respective stakeholders first. Since it has not done so, this move to fully control the media through the PMRA will not serve its intended purpose and will only be remembered as yet another unsuccessful move to snatch the freedom of expression guaranteed to us by our Constitution.<\/p>\n The PTI government, which is currently hiding behind the shield of national interest, saving money and highlighting the negativity of the press, needs to be reminded of the\u00a0saying\u00a0by Robert Ebert:<\/p>\n \u201cWhen, in a free society, the press is criticised for negativity, that almost always simply means it has dared to question the\u00a0policies\u00a0of the party in power.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n