J K News Today
Jammu, June 2:
Pakistan , which has declared itself as a champion of freedom expression ad makes a lot of noise while pointing fingers at India by distorting facts , needs to look into mirror . Its image emerges that of the most intolerant nation, where minorities and dissenters are dealt with death, torture and imprisonment . Now it is working on a plan to remove all the façade with which it had covered as a nation having free press.. this, despite the fact that the journalists were harassed, shot dead and imprisoned and tortured for bringing out flaws in the system.
As if this was not enough , now the Pakistan government is working on a proposal to crackdown on media . It is bringing an ordinance that will squeeze all criticism of the government and those daring to write something contrary to wishes of the establishment will face consequences.
This is a big lesson for all those in Kashmir who believe Pakistan is a better country and fall in its trap by silently endorsing the recruitment of the local youth into militancy . If they have any doubt , they should read what is being said in Pakistani press. Kashmir should know what is happening in Pakistan and how all the civil liberties are being crushed by the establishment over there before drawing ant comparisons.
Pakistani Federal Union of Journalists ( PFUJ) , Human rights Commission of Pakistan ( HRCP) and Pakistan Bar Council while rejecting the proposed Pakistan Media Development Authority ( PMDA) Ordinance , 2021 , termed it as “ draconian in scope and devastating in its impact on the constitutional principles and guarantees for freedom of expression, media freedoms , and the right to information as well as the profession of journalism.”
Dawn in its editorial on Wednesday ,” Draconian media law” said that the draft of the ordinance is a “ declaration of war against journalists . It will, if enacted erase all critical voices from print, electronic and digital platforms through a system of coercive censorship that will allow only a pliant media to survive. In other words , this naked attempt to control the narrative will eviscerate the very rationale for the fourth estate , which is to act as a check on excesses of power and function as a watchdog for the public interest.”
The Editorial reads : “ not only is it antithetical to the constitutionally protected right to freedom of expression but it also violates right to receive information . It should in fact be a matter of shame for a government claiming to have come to power through the ballot, to envisage a media law more draconian than what a military dictator could have dreamt up.”
