House’s Special Committee asks journalists to file complaints

The National Assembly’s Special Committee,  probing threats to journalists, Tuesday asked all media professionals to submit their complaints, information and evidences with.

Earlier, PML-N’s MNA Ahsan Iqbal was elected chairperson of the special committee tasked with probing into the issue of threatening messages to the journalists.

Ahsan Iqbal said his panel would take a stern action on submissions of complaints by journalists from any part of the country about threat from individuals, groups or the government departments.

He informed the committee would also draft recommendations and prepare a formula for protection of journalists after completing investigation.

It was decided that the committee would form its Terms of Reference (ToR) with the consultation of various press clubs and Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ).

The special committee will also examine the international rules and practices for protection of the journalists and while security departments will also brief the panel over the issue.

Earlier Speaker National Assembly Dr Fehmida Mirza, on January 2, constituted a nine-member Special Committee to “Investigate the issue of threatening messages being received by journalists and media personnel.”

The Committee comprises of MNAs Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Nawab Muhammad Yousaf Talpur, Nazar Muhammad Gondal, Ahsan Iqbal, Engineer Khurrum Dastagir, Dr Attiya Inayatullah, Syed Haider Abbas Rizvi, Pervez Khan and Mufti Ajmal Khan.

The matter was raised by PML-N in the parliament after private TV channel’s anchorperson Hamid Mir said he had received threats through email.

A media watchdog “Reporters Without Borders” (RSF) in its report about 2010 said Ten journalists were killed in Pakistan, most of them murdered, making it the most dangerous country for news coverage.

The killers were brought to justice are close to zero, report says.

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Posted by Faisal Farooq on Jan 11 2012. Filed under Pakistan, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry