Senate body approves 'Freedom of Information' law draft
Committee flays FIR against a private channel and summons the Balochistan Information Secretary.
ISLAMABAD (Online) - Senate Committee on Information and Broadcasting has approved the draft of the "Freedom of Information Law" prepared by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and recommended by the sub-committee headed by Farhatullah Babar.
The committee decided that Kamil Ali Agha‚ Chairman of the committee will move the bill in Senate as multi-party bill.
The committee meeting‚ chaired by Kamil Ali Agha‚ appreciated the efforts of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Senate sub-committee members including Fahatullah Babar‚ Daud Achakzai and Zafar Ali Shah.
Kamil Ali Agha said if the bill was passed by the Parliament at the earliest‚ it would become an example for the provinces to follow suit.
Minister for Information and Broadcasting Pervaiz Rasheed said the government believes in consensus and takes all decisions with consultation of stakeholders.
He cited the example of similar bill adopted by Punjab cabinet before dissolution of the assemblies and added that the same policy was being followed here.
He suggested that the government should own the bill and present it in the cabinet for approval before tabling it in the Parliament.
However‚ the committee after thorough consultations came to the conclusion that it should be moved by the committee chairman Kamil Ali Agha on private members day as multi-party bill.
Later the government will own the bill and present it in the cabinet for approval.
The committee also condemned the registration of FIR against a private channel and decided to summon the Balochistan Information Secretary to record his statement on the unfortunate incident.
The information minister told the committee that he personally talked with the Balochistan CM who said that he was informed by the officers that the case was registered on the orders of the Supreme Court.
He opined that telecasting report on Quaid residency was no crime‚ rather it was right of the people to know what happened to the residency and the flag of the country in the terrorist attack.
The committee also expressed concern over the telecast of foreign television dramas dubbed in Urdu and decided to seek a reply from Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority in the next meeting.
The meeting was attended by Senators Saeeda Iqbal‚ Saeed Ghani‚ Farhatullah Babar‚ Farha Aqil‚ Shirala Malik and Rubina Khalid.
Secretary Information and Broadcasting‚ Dr Nazir Saeed‚ Additional Secretary Information‚ Muhammad Azam and other senior officials of the ministry also attended the meeting.
