This is apropos a Business Recorder editorial “Government and media” carried by the newspaper a week ago.

The newspaper has concluded its argument by saying, among other things, that “Already unnecessarily locking horns with the fourth pillar of state has created needless risks for the government; which will go into the election either on the back foot or with a red nose. Hopefully, better sense will still prevail and the government will restrict itself to its constitutional limits and let other organs of the state get on with their jobs as well”.

In my view, the government’s intentions are quite clear: it is seeking to shrink the space for freedom of expression in the country. The proposed media law tells us very clearly the truth about government’s plans. The proposed law, for example, envisages, among other things, extremely harsh penalties on ‘erring’ TV channels. In other words, the government has decided to deal with the media houses through strictest possible actions to reduce space for democracy. The government, however, must not lose sight of the fact that freedom of expression is a core value in a democratic process.

Ehtesham Khawar (Karachi)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021