The Lower and Upper houses of Parliament on Wednesday approved the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which had earlier been retracted by Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb after a section of media opposed clauses related to disinformation and fake news.
Tabling the bill in the Senate, Aurangzeb said the bill was amended with the input of all stakeholders. Under the bill, a parliamentary committee would appoint the PEMRA chairman from five names proposed by the Ministry of Information. This committee, it states, would comprise four MNAs and two senators with equal representation from the treasury and opposition benches.
After selecting a name for the PEMRA chairman, it said, the committee would forward it to the president for formal notification. Under the law, if the parliamentary committee fails to achieve consensus on a name within 30 days, then the matter would be sent to the prime minister, who would propose a suitable name for the post and forward it to the president.
The amended legislation also replaces the word “salary” with “dues” for media workers, with Aurangzeb saying this was to alleviate concerns of some journalistic bodies regarding payment of pending dues. The bill states that media houses found violating laws related to wages could be fined up to Rs. 10 million. In addition, the government would not offer any ads to media houses that do not pay journalists for two consecutive months, or pay their employees less than minimum wage. This, said the minister, was aimed at ensuring financial security of media workers.
“Three clauses have been inserted in the amendment bill,” she told the Senate. “There was room for change and improvement in the bill,” she said, adding the legislation had for the first time granted a platform for media workers to resolve their issues.
Stressing that the bill was framed after consultations with various journalistic bodies, Aurangzeb said the definitions of “misinformation” and “disinformation” has also been redefined in the amended legislation.