Draft Charter of Media Freedom finalised

Journalists from across the country attending the national conference on media freedom, laws and security wrote a draft Charter of Media Freedom (CMF) registered profound sense of regret with the seven restrictive Ordinances against freedom of expressions published since the last election (2002).
Nusrat Javed, President of Pakistan Safma, and former compere of Aaj popular talk show Bolta Pakistan chaired the conference. Office bearers of the Pakistan Federation of Journalists, All Pakistan Newspaper Society, Pakistan Newspaper Editors Council as well as Press Clubs from all four provinces attended the Conference hosted by Pakistan Chapter of South Asia Free Media Association (Safma), on Friday.
The CMF said' media persons were concerned about the imposition of emergency, suspension of the constitution and fundamental rights, erosion of independence of judiciary and rule of law as well as imposition of two black media laws, and that the authoritarian measures were a breach of 'social contract between the citizens and state.'
The documents enunciated the fundamental rights of citizens to free flow of information and providing for maximum disclosure. To that end the Charter demanded that public bodies should be obliged to promote open government and publish key information. It said any exception to that information must be clearly 'and narrowly drawn,' and must be subject to strict 'harm' and public interest tests.
It also demanded that requests for information must be processed rapidly and fairly and refusals must be able to appeal to independent tribunals, 'the right to access record/information in the possession of public bodies should be acknowledged, but the grounds on, which information may be exempted from disclosure should be reduced to the minimum.'
Safma Secretary General, Imtiaz Alam, speaking to the gathering, said that it was impossible to conceive of press freedom without an independent judiciary. He also gave notice that the Press council in its present form was not acceptable and just a way of making the press an extension of the executive. "It would not be acceptable even if Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry was appointed to head it.'
Speaking of media freedom Waqar Mustafa said 'media boom required a re-think by the government, the people, the media owners and journalists on several fronts. 'One cold have voluntary journalism but it was not possible to attain it forcibly.'
In the words of General Secretary Safma, Mustanser Javeed, 'Censorship has truly reflected the lack of confidence of the military government in itself.' It had re-asserted the allegation that censorship had been the hallmark of authoritarian regimes.
Famous activist I A Rehman gave historic review of the Freedom of Press Information 2002 and said it was drafted in a hurry to meet a deadline of a donor agency. But the Ordinance was flawed in many ways, including that the designated official was made subject to government instruction. There were also unfair reservations of the citizens' right to access information.
Afzal Khan said the 'second martial law' imposed on November 3 in the guise of emergency targeted judiciary and the media. Agha Nasir said the Pemra Ordinance of 2002 raised by many objections from media persons but the recent amendments to the law were restricted and were being used as tools for controlling private channels.
In the discussion session Press Club presidents focused on the abnormal restrictions imposed on tribal journalists. As some one said 'While you were struggling for press freedom we were fighting for the press itself. Journalists who file stories with their by-lines are subject to abnormal pressures from intelligence agencies.
Consensus in the conference said there was need to have a watch dog to address problems arising out of mistakes or misconduct, but it must be self-regulatory, free from interference of the executive and in conformity with international press codes of democratic countries.