News Detail
Event Title: Senator Syed Ali Zafar, Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting presiding over a meeting of the committee at Parliament House Islamabad
Event Date: 2024-08-06
Senator Syed Ali Zafar chaired the meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting held today at Parliament House.
The Senate Committee deliberated on the Private Member Bill titled “The Protection of Journalists and Media Professionals (Amendment) Bill, 2022.” Senator Saleem Mandviwalla, the bill’s mover, stated that the purpose of the bill is to protect journalists, their families, and their properties. The bill proposes the establishment of a Commission to provide immediate relief to journalists against torture and other calamities. Members of the PFUJ informed that the definition of "journalists" varies in different laws and should be standardized across all laws. The bill also proposes clauses to protect the sources of journalists. The Committee, after a detailed discussion, deferred further deliberation until the next meeting.
While discussing the Punjab Defamation Act, Senator Irfan Siddiqui asserted that the Committee has no right to review legislation passed by Provincial Governments, as the matter falls under the ambit of Provincial Governments following the 18th Amendment. Senator Syed Ali Zafar opined that the primary objective of this agenda is to conduct a comparative analysis of defamation laws currently prevailing worldwide. He emphasised that the purpose of the law should be to balance fundamental rights and freedoms, rather than to diminish one at the expense of the other. The Committee decided to hold an exclusive session to discuss the impact of flawed defamation acts on society and freedom of expression.
The meeting was attended by Senator Irfan ul Haque Siddiqui,Senator Pervaiz Rashid,Senator Sarmad Ali,Senator Aon Abbas,Senator Muhammad Tallal Badar,Senator Abdul Shakoor Khan,Senator Jan Muhammad,Senator Ashraf Ali Jatoi,Senator Saleem Mandviwalla,Senator Zarqa Suharwardhy Taimur,Senator Manzoor Ahmed Kakar,Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar,Secretary for Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Ambreen Jan and other senior officials of relevant departments were also in attendance.