In a letter addressed to the provincial information secretary related to the ongoing investigations into the murder of journalist Saleem Shehzad, Sindh Advocate General Abdul Fattah Malik has recommended the print media journalists for following a code of conduct.
As per the letter, no article written against any religion or sect or community should be allowed publication; no printing material likely to deprave, corrupt or injure public morality should be allowed; no article likely to cause hatred on basis of race, caste, colour, ethnic or linguistic origin, religion or sect, sex or sexual orientation should be allowed; any material defamatory or knowingly false; material likely to incite violence or contains anything against the maintenance of law and order or which promotes anti-national or anti-state attitudes; material based on aspersions against the judiciary or armed forces of Pakistan; articles that malign or slander any individual in person or certain groups, segments of social, public and moral life of the society; no journalist should be allowed to write against the basic cultural values, morality and good manners; material that brings into contempt Pakistan or its people or tends to undermine its integrity or solidarity as an independent and sovereign country; material which promotes, aids or abets any offence under Pakistan Penal Code or any other law should not be permissible; and no such material should be allowed publication that is against Islamic values.
The Sindh Advocate General also maintains in the letter that if this Code of Conduct is followed and regulated by law with reasonable restrictions containing the above noted points, it is likely that journalists may remain safe.
