SAMC condemns crackdown on media in Pak

New Delhi, June 8: The South Asia Media Commission (SAMC) has lashed out against a government crackdown on media freedom in Pakistan.

Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf granted the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) extra powers after criticising coverage of the suspension of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on March 9, the commission pointed out in a statement.

The regulator can now seal the premises or confiscate the equipment of television and radio channels, and suspend the licences of offenders. The decree also sharply increases the fine for violation of rules.

"The media is directly under attack. The new rules could have a chilling effect on Pakistan's civil society," Mr N Ram, the Chairperson of the commission, and Mr Najam Sethi, its General Secretary, said.

In the statement released by the Commission's regional coordinator Husain Naqi, the SAMC called the most recent changes to the PEMRA decree as 'yet another attempt to muzzle the media'.

"Media should be free to cover political events. Pakistani people have a right to know what their government is doing," the SAMC said.

"This is a black law, journalists reject it because it is aimed at stifling whatever the government does not like," said the commission, a new media watchdog formed in April this year to monitor journalists' safety and violation of media rights. The Commission is envisaged to promptly respond to such violations to press for remedial action.

UNI

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