The Ministry of Information Monday suspended Assistant Director Internal Publicity Wing Saadullah Mahar and made Director General and Director IPW Nasir Jamal Tahir Hasan respectively as OSDs following widespread criticism from journalistic circles over reports that the government is mulling introducing an anti-press law to curb freedom of expression.
The ministry also constituted a one-man inquiry committee to find out how the aforementioned situation emerged which caused embarrassment to the ministry by creating an impression that it was trying to tighten in any way the existing regulatory framework for the print media.
The ministry has appointed Director General External Publicity Wing, Shafqat Jalil, as inquiry officer to conduct a fact-finding probe into the matter, fix responsibility on the concerned individuals, and submit the report within three days positively.
The announcement comes a day after the state minister for information and broadcasting said she would order an inquiry against the official responsible for going "behind her back" and ordering drafting of a controversial ordinance that apparently seeks to muzzle the print media.
On Monday, the Ministry of Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage also categorically rejected media reports pertaining to alleged directives of the government for preparation of Pakistan Print Media Regulatory Authority Draft Ordinance, 2017.
The incumbent government is totally committed to upholding the freedom laid down in the Constitution of Pakistan with respect to media, the ministry said.
"It came to the notice of the minister of state, and the secretary, Ministry of Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage, that the subject news item was published in the national press on Sunday and it was also subsequently discussed in various TV talk shows on the same evening, whereas neither the minister of state nor the secretary was aware of any such proposal," the secretary information said on Monday.
He clarified when office file/ record of the subject case was sought, only one file was handed over to him with the subject titled "Request for Modify PCP Ordinance-2002 on the Pattern of PEMRA Amendment Act, 2007". It does not contain any noting portion, while the contents in the file include: The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority Ordinance, 2002; the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority Ordinance, 2002 as Amended by the PEMRA (Amendment) Act, 2007; and the copies of three letters issued by Saad Ullah Mahar, Assistant Director (P-II) , Internal Publicity Wing, bearing No.3(3)/2017-P-II dated July 26, 2017, August 04, 2017 and August 16, 2017, respectively.
Secretary Information Sardar Ahmad Nawaz Sukhera stated that he spoke telephonically to Chairman PCP Dr Salah-ud-Din Mengal who stated that the subject case is an agenda item for a meeting of the PCP to be held on Monday. The secretary information advised him to drop this agenda item forthwith.
Mengal, however, informed the secretary that the exercise of development of draft Pakistan Print Media Regulatory Authority, 2017 was initiated as a consequence of a discussion during a meeting held at the Ministry of Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage on March 03, 2017, which was chaired by the minister of state for information. However, he (Salah-ud-Din) acknowledged that neither formal minutes of the meeting nor instructions of the minister are available on record in this regard.
The minister of state was personally informed by the secretary of these developments and she categorically denied having given any such instructions. She clarified that she had only advised the Chairman PCP, during the meeting of March 03, 2017, that in order to facilitate the media industry, various regulatory functions currently spread across other organizations of the MoIBNH, like the Press Registrar's Office, Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC), etc, may be merged with the PCP, so that the PCP is able to provide a one-window operation to the media industry in a more efficient manner.
Director General Internal Publicity Wing, Nasir Jamal also confirmed that the minister had only directed the PCP to consider merging the functions of the Press Registrar's office and ABC with PCP for facilitation of the media industry, by providing a more efficient and transparent system.