ISLAMABAD: Minister of State for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage Marriyum Aurangzeb, while revealing the details of a fact-finding inquiry into the drafting of an ordinance to put curbs on the print media, said that of Internal Publicity Wing Director General of the ministry Nasir Jamal was solely responsible for whatever transpired between him and the Press Council of Pakistan (PCP), and the consequent drafting of the said law was without the knowledge of the secretary or herself.
The minister, during a press conference here Tuesday, said the DG intentionally concealed the facts from the high-ups and presided over two meetings on the subject in his office and gave instructions for the preparation of the draft to replace PCP Ordinance, following which three letters were also issued to the Pakistan Press Council.
She said that the PCP chairman, in response to the letters sent out from the ministry, had informed Nasir Jamal that before initiating any amendments in the law, the council would have to consult its stakeholders which would take some time. The DG did not even bring that letter into the notice of the secretary or the minister.
She said that the willful concealment of facts and an attempt to drive a wedge between the media and the government was extremely regrettable and everybody was deploring this act. She said that the government did not believe in gagging the media. She said what Nasir Jamal did was an inexcusable act and now a proper inquiry would be held against him under the Government Servants Efficiency and Discipline Rules 1973 to find out why he did and what he did.
Explaining the background of the episode, she said that during a briefing of the Press Council of Pakistan, when she assumed the charge of the Ministry of Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage, she had expressed the opinion that with a view to facilitating the media and resolving their difficulties concerning their dealings with the ministry, the possibility of merging the office of the Audit Bureau of Circulation, Press Registrar and Press Council of Pakistan may be considered to make it a one-window operation for the media.
The minister said that one of the departments in its working paper had also corroborated what she had said exactly. No formal orders were issued for the drafting of any legislation or ordinance to replace the PCP Ordinance 2002, she added.
The minister while quashing some reports suggesting that the government really wanted to promulgate the new law but following the reaction of the media had abandoned the idea, explained that for the enactment of any new law there was a proper procedure which had to be adopted with all the relevant developments recorded on the files and approval of the competent authority sought before seeking the input and approval of the Ministry of Law. Nothing of the sort happened in this case, she added.
She urged the media to avoid speculative reporting which in the end proved embarrassing for the reporter himself and the institution that he represented.
Marriyum said that she in her capacity as minister was a representative of the media in the ministry wedded to the cause of freedom of expression. Her responsibility was also to improve government-press relations which were only possible through measures designed to strengthen freedom of expression, she added.
The minister said that the democratic government of PML-N, which had all along stood for the independence of media, could not think of any curbs on the media.
Replying another question, the minister said that the statements given by the prime minister and the COAS should be evaluated in their proper context. There had been a drastic decrease in the incidents of terrorism which had come down to 160 in 2017 as compared to 2600 in 2013, she added.
This woman is bold and therefore never hasitates to tell a lie.
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