PAKISTAN MEDIA MONITOR – September 2024
A monthly report on trends relating to state of journalism and media rights, policies and practices
Tracking:
Media related laws, policies and regulations
The state of media professionalisms
The state of media economy
Threats and attacks against journalists and information practitioners
Vol. 5, No. 9 – September 2024 Edition
Produced by Freedom Network – www.fnpk.org
SECTION 1: Media related laws, policies, regulations, mechanisms
- Freedom of expression (FOE)
- Right to information (RTI), access to information (ATI)
- Federal and provincial governments (relevant ministries and departments)
- Media related regulators (PPC, PEMRA, PTA)
- Regulatory issues related to print, electronic and digital media
Information Commission issues show-cause notice to PMDC president
Date: September 5, 2024 – Source: Dawn
The Pakistan Information Commission (PIC) issued a show-cause notice to the president of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) for failing to appear before the commission during a hearing.
Date: September 29 2024 – Source: Express Tribune
In a statement, former Senator for the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Farhatullah Babar said that democracy is a governance structure that rests on the pillars of rule of law, transparency, right to information (RTI) and accountability.
SECTION 2: The state of media professionalisms
- Media independence issues
- Public interest journalism practices and challenges
- Ethical journalism issues
- The state of thematic journalism
- Community-focused media
- Misinformation / disinformation / fake news
Date: September 5, 2024 – Source: Dawn
The Wild Wild Web of YouTube journalism continues its frenetic dance of sensationalism, prophecy, and political pandering. It is a show that would be purely entertaining if it weren’t so potentially dangerous.
Minister laments ‘lack of mechanisms’ to counter misinformation
Date: September 5, 2024 – Source: Dawn
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar lamented the ‘lack of mechanisms’ to control and counter the spread of false information on digital platforms, stating that they cause damage to the country’s image and fragile economy.
WPF condemns sexist comments made against anchorperson, calls for apology
Date: September 8, 2024 – Source: Women Press Freedom (WPF)
Media rights organization Women Press Freedom (WPF) condemned the vile abuse directed at female anchorperson Gharidah Farooqui after she criticized sexist and derogatory remarks made by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, which specifically targeted women journalists.
Supreme Court regrets inaccurate reporting of CJP’s ‘off-the-record- remarks
Date: September 11, 2024 – Source 1: Dawn, Source 2: Express Tribune, Source 3: Business Recorder (BR)
The Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) clarified that off-the-record comments made by Chief Justice (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa during a conversation with journalists were ‘needlessly and inaccurately’ reported in the media.
Anchorperson condemns allegations, announces to pursue legal action
Date: September 14, 2024 – Source: Pakistan Today
Female anchorperson Gharidah Farooqui announced that she will pursue legal action against Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur for making defamatory allegations against her in his speech during Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s (PTI) political rally near Islamabad.
Unlike the UK, Pakistan struggles to curb fake news
Date: September 26, 2024 – Source: The News
As against Britain where prompt action was taken against those who spread misinformation that caused riots in England and Northern Ireland, Pakistan is still struggling to tackle the issue of fake news and its serious fallouts for both the country and the society.
Lahore High Court issues notices on challenge to Punjab defamation act
Date: September 30, 2024 – Source: Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF)
The Lahore High Court (LHC) issued notices to the Punjab government and other relevant parties in response to a petition challenging the Punjab Defamation Act 2024.
SECTION 3: The state of media economy
- Economic landscape of media industry
- Impact of Covid-19 on media resilience and sustainability
- Government and private advertising for media industry
- Advertising sector and its interface with media industry
- Business viability and sustainability of media
- Wages, salaries and arrears of journalists and media practitioners
SECTION 4: Threats and attacks against media and information practitioners, including online
- Murders and killings
- Kidnappings and abductions
- Arrests and detentions
- Threats – verbal and written
- Harassment and intimidation – offline and online
- Surveillance, hacking and data breaches
- Legal cases for journalism-related work or free speech
- Impunity of crimes against journalists
- Censorship
Government employees barred from airing political views online
Date: September 3, 2024 – Source: Dawn
The federal government once again asked its employees to refrain from using social media to express political or religious opinions as well as from sharing information with any unauthorized government official or the media.
PEMRA’s appeal against suspension of telecast restrictions rejected
Date: September 4, 2024 – Source: The News
The Sindh High Court (SHC) disposed of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority’s (PEMRA) appeal against the high court’s single bench interim order that suspended PEMRA’s restrictions on telecasting certain political activities and speeches on electronic media.
Journalist gunned down in Mastung
Date: September 5, 2024 – Source 1: Dawn, Source 2: The News, Source 3: Express Tribune
A local journalist working for a news agency in Mastung was gunned down by armed men. According to reports, Nisar Ahmed Lehri was coming home when armed men opened fire at him, resulting in his death on the spot.
Date: September 11, 2024 – Source: Dawn
Pakistan’s political sphere, vitiated by ever-increasing sexism, is a space where decency is in short supply. KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur’s hideous remarks about the Punjab Chief Minister and female journalists during his speech in Lahore betrayed extraordinary uncivility.
Supreme Courts accepts apology tendered by 34 television channels
Date: September 13, 2024 – Source: Dawn
The Supreme Court (SC) disposed of contempt proceedings against 34 television channels by accepting their unqualified apologies after the media outlets committed to broadcast their regrets on prime time.
PTA clarifies X ban order still in effect
Date: September 15, 2024 – Source: Express Tribune
The counsel representing the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) told the Sindh High Court (SHC) that the withdrawal of the notification regarding the suspension of social media platform X in Pakistan was ‘mistakenly’ reported, clarifying that the ban remains in effect.
Supreme Court issues written order in contempt notices issued to television channels
Date: September 17, 2024 – Source: The News
A four-member bench of the Supreme Court (SC) issued a written order about the contempt notices issued to several television channels for airing contemptuous press conferences of Senator Faisal Vawda and MNA Mustafa Kamal about the superior judiciary.
Man booked for ‘blasphemy’ over Facebook posts
Date: September 23, 2024 – Source: Dawn
Police registered a case against a Chichawatni man on charge of blasphemy for his posts on Facebook. The case was registered against the 25-year-old on the complaint of Shamsul Hasan, an assistant sub-inspector of the Saddar Police Station.
Digital media workers in Pakistan struggling for fair pay, safe working environment
Date: September 25, 2024 – Source: Dawn
In a legal brief submitted to the Islamabad High Court (IHC), the Institute for Research, Advocacy and Development (IRADA) observed that more than 250,000 digital media employees in Pakistan were working without adequate legal protection on issues such as fair pay and appropriate working conditions.
IHC grills government on ISPR ‘assuming exclusive right’ to determine defense analysts
Date: September 26, 2024 – Source 1: Dawn, Source 2: The News, Source 3: The Nation
The Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) Justice Babar Sattar grilled the federal government on how the military’s media wing was assuming the ‘exclusive right’ to decide who qualifies as a defense analyst.
UN expert asks Pakistan, Kenya to speed up probe into Arshad Sharif’s killing
Date: September 27, 2024 – Source: Dawn
A United Nations expert said that Kenyan and Pakistani authorities must step up efforts to fully investigate the killing of journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya and prosecute those responsible, in line with a landmark ruling by a Kenyan court.
Government says X can return if compliance issues are resolved
Date: September 28, 2024 – Source: Dawn
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said that access to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) can be restored if it is willing to address compliance issues.
OBJECTIVES: This series of monthly report aims to:
- Monitor the state of policies, regulations and mechanisms governing the media sector in Pakistan; the state of freedom of expression and right to information environment in the country and how these interfaces with media freedoms allowed or restricted via media regulations governed by the print, electronic and internet regulators.
- Track the state of media professionalisms in the country including ethical and public interest journalism practices and challenges, and the challenges of misinformation, disinformation and fake news phenomena.
- Follow the changing economic dynamics of the media industry and how they impact the business viability and sustainability of media and exploitation of media staff in lieu of their wages and arrears.
- Scrutinize threats and attacks against media and information practitioners, the state of impunity of crimes against journalists and efforts to provide justice for those aggrieved and distressed.
INFORMATION SOURCES: This report monitors, among others, the following sources of information:
- Government: Federal and provincial cabinets
- Ministries: Related ministries, including Information and Broadcasting, Information Technology (IT) and Telecom, Human Rights, Science and Technology, Commerce and Industry, etc.
- Legislatures: Senate, National Assembly, provincial assemblies, relevant standing committees
- Regulators: Pakistan telecommunications Authority (PTA), Pakistan Electronic Media regulatory Authority (PEMRA), Press Council of Pakistan (PPC), State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), etc.
- Global organizations: UN/Unesco, International Media Support (IMS), Reporters Without Borders (RSF), International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Amnesty International (AI), Human Rights Watch (HRW), etc.
- National organizations: Digital Rights Foundation (DRF), BoloBhi, Media Matters for Democracy (MMFD), Institute for Research, Advocacy and Development (IRADA), Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), etc.
- Media: Dawn, The News, Express Tribune, The Nation, Pakistan Today, The Friday Times, etc.
- Social Media:Facebook, Twitter, etc.
- Local networks: Journalists Safety Hubs Network, Alliance on Diversity & Pluralism in Media, etc.
- Any other open public information sources.
