The first meeting of Press Council of Pakistan was held here on Tuesday. Press Council of Pakistan has been established in pursuant of Press Council Ordinance, 2002. The main purpose of establishment of Press Council of Pakistan is to maintain freedom of the press and administration of Ethical Code of Practice which is attached as a schedule in the Press Council of Pakistan Ordinance, 2002.
Under this Ordinance, Press Council consists of 19 members, including its Chairman. The appointment of Chairman is discretion of President of Pakistan on the advice of the Prime Minister. The composition of the Council is as under:
a) Four members by the All Pakistan Newspapers Society
b) Four members by the Council of Pakistan Newspapers Editors
c) Four members by the professional bodies of Journalists
d) Vice Chairman Pakistan Bar Council
e) Chairperson or nominee of the Higher Education Commission
f) One member by the Leader of the House in the National Assembly
g) One member by the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly
h) One mass media educationist to be nominated by the Council
i) One woman to be nominated by the National Commission on Status of Women in Pakistan
Though the Ordinance was promulgated in 2002, only two Chairmen were appointed for a short tenure by the government, without any notification of its members. The first Chairman Justice Ijaz Yousaf Chaudhry served the Council from 03-03-2007 to 06-11-2007. The second Chairman Justice Javed Iqbal served the Council from 15-11-2007 to 15-03-2009.
The credit for appointing the new Chairman and notification of all the members of the Press Council of Pakistan goes to the democratic government.
Now the Council has become fully functional and its first meeting was held on November 01, 2011. The present Chairman, Raja Muhammad Shafqat Khan Abbasi, assumed the charge of Chairman, Press Council, on September 7, 2011 and immediately met all the nominated members and other stakeholders of the media.
The establishment of Press Council is a step towards strengthening the fourth pillar of the state ie mass media. We all know that the media in Pakistan has assumed the role of a watchdog of all the three others pillars of the state. The Ethical Code of Practice attached as a schedule of the Press Council of Pakistan Ordinance is formulated for the purpose of its functioning in accordance with the spirit of freedom of Press and promotes high standards of responsible journalism, particularly with regard to addressing the public complaints.
The democratic government believes that the media should be faithful to freedom of the press on one hand and accurate, fair and accountable to the civil society. In many countries, press councils are actively working as regulatory bodies where public can go to address their grievances against the media. The Press Council of Pakistan will strive to maintain high standards of fairness while addressing the public complaints against the media.-PR
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