The government has come up with an outlandish media control scheme through a formal mechanism. Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information Firdous Ashiq Awan disclosed on Wednesday that a plan is on the anvil to set up 'media courts' - something unheard of in any real democracy - which would deal with "only media-related complaints and grievances, and help provide justice to the aggrieved [parties] within the shortest possible time." These courts, she said, would also handle the issues outstanding between the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) and cable operators, "who [often] move the courts of law against any action by the regulator body, which causes delay in the execution of its policies", and also ensure prompt justice to media workers. The proposal clearly is aimed at putting more pressure on the media already confronted with 'advisories' and other arm-twisting methods employed to stifle dissenting voices.
As important as the freedom expression is for the media, it does not demand or receive any special rights. It makes no sense therefore to subject it to control through special laws and courts. To say the least, it is unfortunate that a democratically-elected government should devise new ways to restrict media freedoms. All the more so in view of what Prime Minister Imran Khan told his interlocutors at the Washington think-tank, the United States Institute for Peace, and later an interviewer for Fox News TV. There are no restrictions on press freedom, he said, and that in fact he was a beneficiary of independent media growth in the recent years, which helped him reach out to the people with his message at a time his party did not have the resources for mobilising public opinion in its support. He had also kept insisting that the media in Pakistan is out of control, which seemed to imply that nothing was above reproach. But the new plan suggests otherwise. It speaks of an urge for control - hallmark of a dictatorial mindset.
Predictably, media representative bodies, the Council of Pakistan Newspapers Editors (CPNE) and All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) have issued statements condemning the new proposal as an attack on media freedom through escalatory pressure on media houses and journalists. As they have pointed out, there is the Press Council of Pakistan, Pemra's Commission of Complaints, Wage Board Implementation Tribunal (to address journalists' grievances), additional forums and laws for dispute resolution as well as addressing other issues and concerns. There is no justification, therefore, to form special court for the media. This government should not forget that the right to publish or broadcast news and views is the result of a long and hard struggle waged by journalists. Any attempt at curtailment of this right will meet with fierce resistance. Already engaged in a relentless fight with the opposition and confronted with a serious economic crisis, it would be wise not to open a new front.