Information Minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain has said that the government wants to establish a media regulatory authority but only with a consensus. He was addressing a meeting of Senate Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting on Monday. The minister said the draft of media regulatory authority is being sent to all stakeholders to seek their opinions.
The minister clarified that the government wants to establish an institution that is free from government influence. Chaudhry Fawad Hussain claimed that the Pakistani media is enjoying many freedoms in comparison with media in other Islamic countries.
Meanwhile the All Pakistan Newspapers Society has strongly deplored the decision of the federal cabinet on the formation of Pakistan Media Regulatory Authority, which they say is unacceptable to the media and the civil society of Pakistan.
Published in Daily Times, February 26th 2019.
