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Chairman Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Friday said there is an "undeclared censorship" in the country despite constitutional guarantee to freedom of press. "Journalists as human rights defenders suffer the most when freedom of expression is stifled," Bilawal said while addressing an event organized by Karachi Union of Journalists (KUJ) in connection with the World Press Freedom Day here at the Karachi Press Club (KPC).
Also, he called for the setting up of a special public prosecutor's office to pursue cases of crimes against journalists. He said freedom of expression, after right to life, is the most important right. Without it, other rights cannot be articulated. "Indeed, it's the mother of all other rights."
"But unfortunately this right has come under increasing threat as some people hold guns, others carry religious text in order to stifle free speech," he added.
Rights in the country are shrinking generally. Journalists have been killed in the line of duty with impunity. "There is undeclared censorship in the country," he said adding that the space for democratic right is dangerously shrinking in Pakistan. Until recently, Bilawal said, freedom of expression was stifled secretly with banning some media channels and newspapers in some areas of the country or by manipulating advertisements to force the media to toe certain lines.
President KUJ Ashraf Khan said that government is using controversial laws to suppress journalists. KUJ also adopted a resolution rejecting government's proposed media regulatory authority terming it an 'anti-media move.' It also urged the government to form a permanent parliamentary committee on media-related affairs with inclusion of the representatives of the genuine journalist associations. The resolution was presented by General Secretary KUJ Ahmad Khan Malik. It was adopted by journalists. Senator Mushahidullah of PMLN said that media has now become the first pillar of the state. Human Right advocate and columnist I.A Rehman, Senior Journalists Mehmood Shaam, Anwar Sajidi, Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah and others also spoke on the occasion.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019

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