MEDIA in PAKISTAN
1.
History of Pakistan
In 1947, The Indian subcontinent is
partitioned into mainly Muslim Pakistan and mainly Hindu India. The Pakistan
government is headed by Muhammad Ali Jinnah as Governor-General, with Liaquat
Ali Khan serving as Prime Minister. A constituent assembly is formed to act as
both parliament and to draft a constitution. First War with India is faced by
country. Urdu is declared as official language by Jinnah, which sparked anger
in Bengali people of East-Pakistan. Long
suffering from Tuberculosis, Muhammad Ali Jinnah dies in 1948. Khwaja
Nazimuddin became the Governor-General.
In 1951,Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan, who
drafted the Objectives Resolution which today is the preamble to Pakistan's constitution,
is assassinated in Rawalpindi. In 1956, Pakistan gets its first constitution,
turning the country from an autonomous dominion into an "Islamic
Republic".
Independence and first
democratic era
1947
The Indian subcontinent is
partitioned into mainly Muslim Pakistan and mainly Hindu India. The government
is headed by Muhammad Ali Jinnah as Governor-General, with Liaquat Ali Khan
serving as Prime Minister. A constituent assembly is formed to act as both
parliament and to draft a constitution.
1948
Long suffering from
Tuberculosis, Muhammad Ali Jinnah dies. He is replaced by Khwaja Nazimuddin.
1951
Prime Minister Liaquat Ali
Khan, who drafted the Objectives Resolution which today is the preamble to
Pakistan's constitution, is assassinated in Rawalpindi.
1956
Pakistan gets its first
constitution, turning the country from an autonomous dominion into an
"Islamic Republic".
First military period
In 1958, President Iskander Mirza suspends the
constitution and takes power. Shortly afterwards, Army chief General Ayub Khan
deposes Mirza and declares himself president. He appoints a commission to
formulate a new system of government for the country. The second
constitution in 1962, outlines a presidential form of government, with a
156-member National Assembly and a Presidential electoral college of 80,000
"Basic Democrats". Members of both bodies are equally divided between
West Pakistan and East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh).
Ayub Khan
resigns as president, handing over power to Army Chief General Yahya Khan in 1969.
Martial Law is proclaimed and all assemblies are dissolved.
General elections are held in 1970, with East
Pakistani leader Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rehman's party emerging as the overall winner.
The controversy over the general election leads to a war involving India in 1971,
that results in the independence of Bangladesh after a brutal Pakistani army
action in East Pakistan
Second democratic era
In 1972, Martial Law is lifted. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
is elected as president. He also launches Pakistan's nuclear programme. A
new constitution is enactedin 1973, declaring Pakistan a parliamentary
democracy, with a prime minister as head of state, leading a bi-cameral
legislature. Bhutto goes from president to prime minister.
In 1976, Bhutto appoints General Zia-ul-Haq as his
chief of army staff. General elections are held, with the Bhutto's party
winning the majority of seats in the national assembly. General Zia-ul-Haq removes
Bhutto in a coup, suspending the constitution and declaring martial law.
Second military period
In 1978, Zia-ul-Haq is sworn in as president. He
retains the office of army chief.
Zia-ul-Haq holds a referendum on his Islamisation
policies. His government claims that more than 95 per cent of votes cast were
in support of Zia in 1984.
General elections are held (on a non-party basis)
in 1985. Martial law is lifted and the
newly elected national assembly ratifies Zia's actions over the last eight
years, and elects him as President. Muhammad Khan Junejo is elected as prime
minister.
Third democratic era
In 1988, General elections are held, with the PPP
(led by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's daughter, Benazir) winning a majority of seats.
Bhutto is sworn in as prime minister. President Ghulam Ishaq Khan dismisses
Bhutto's government on charges of alleged corruption and incompetence 1990.
Fresh elections are held, and Nawaz Sharif, groomed under Zia as the head of
the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI), is elected prime minister.
President Ghulam Ishaq Khan dismisses Sharif's
government for alleged corruption and incompetence in 1993. He himself resigns
later in the year. General elections are held, with Benazir Bhutto elected
prime minister for her second term. Farooq Leghari, a member of the PPP, is
elected as the country's president.
In 1996, President Farooq Leghari dissolves the
National Assembly, dismissing Benazir Bhutto's government, which was operating
under a cloud of corruption allegations.
General elections are held Nawaz Sharif's PML-N
party wins in a landslide in 1997
, and he is elected prime minister for the second
time. Rafiq Tarar is sworn in as President the next year.
In 199, Pakistan conducts nuclear tests in the
Chaghai Hills of Balochistan, in response to similar Indian tests days earlier.
The international community imposes strict economic sanctions on the country in
response.
Third military period
In 1999, Army chief Musharraf takes power placing
Nawaz Sharif and other political leaders under house arrest. The Supreme Court
validates Musharraf's coup and gives him executive and legislative authority
for a period of three years in 2000. Nawaz Sharif and his family flee to exile
in Saudi Arabia.General Pervez Musharraf assumes the office of president, while
remaining chief of army staff in 2001.
In 2007, President Musharraf dismisses Chief
Justice of the Supreme Court Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, prompting a nationwide
protest movement for his reinstatement. Chaudhry is eventually restored, but
Musharraf imposes a state of emergency later in the year ahead of a key apex
court ruling on the legality of his rule. The National Assembly, meanwhile,
completes its five-year term for the first time in Pakistan's history. Benazir
Bhutto is killed in a bomb attack in Rawalpindi in same year.
Fourth democratic era
In 2008, general elections are held. Yousuf Raza
Gilani is elected prime minister, with Asif Ali Zardari, as president.
In 2011, caught amidst scandals involving both
corruption probes and the so-called "Memogate" affair, the PPP
government comes under increasing pressure from the opposition to hold early
elections.
2.
Political System
Liaquat Ali Khan did the groundbreaking work for the Foreign Policy of
Pakistan while taking initiatives towards the formulation of the constitution.
He presented The Objectives Resolution, a prelude to future constitutions, in
the Legislative Assembly. The house passed it on 12 March 1949. It has been
described as the "Magna Carta" of Pakistan's constitutional history.
The allocation of responsibilities between the federal and
provincial governments is specified in the 1973 Constitution. In the event of
any conflict between the legislation of the two tiers of government, that of
the federal government prevails
Apart from decreeing Islam as the state religion, the constitution
does not provide any specific status for religious representatives or
institutions, and similarly traditional institutions are not covered by the
constitution. Constitutional amendments have not been the only means of
Pakistan’s elected and military leaders to make policies and to govern. They
have also relied on decrees rather than parliamentary law-making. According to
the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), 70 ordinances were issued in
2007 alone, ‘a number of them only a day before the National Assembly was due
to meet’.50 Some of these were ordinances that had to be reissued, as they had lapsed, and the
National Assembly had not yet debated them.
A recent publication by another NGO, Pattan, includes an extensive
list of prominent political families of Pakistan and names family members who are currently represented
in the national and provincial assemblies. The same report states that 31 elected
representatives in Punjab, at all levels, are related to the current chief
minister of the province. Similarly, former President Farooq Leghari’s close
family boasts nine elected representatives.
List of Important
parties in pakistan
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PPPP
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An electoral extension of Pakistan Peoples Party formed
in 2002 from PPP for the purpose of compling electoral rules governing
pakistan. This is the largest party in Pakistan currently in power.
The Pakistan Peoples party, launched in 1967 by her
father Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, who became its first chairman and later prime
minister of Pakistan
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PML-N
|
The PML-N is the largest faction of the Pakistan Muslim
League and is led by Nawaz Sharif, who has re-emerged as a political player
in Pakistan after returning from Saudi Arabia where he was exiled after being
ousted from power in a 1999 led by Pervez Musharraf.
PML-N under Sharif received a huge public mandate in
1997 and formed a government with two-thirds majority. Though his rule was
credited with economic growth it was cut short when complaints of corruption
and an attempt to replace the head of the military backfired when
newly-installed army chief Musharraf led a successful coup, forcing him into exile
to avoid corruption convictions.
Permitted by Musharraf to return to Pakistan last year,
Sharif is now banking the PML-N's fortunes on a platform of renewing the
country's top judiciary -- removed by Musharraf during a state of emergency.
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PML-Q
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Formed under guidance from Musharraf in 2001, the PML-Q
was originally a splinter faction of the Pakistan Muslim League, which was
able to attract enough dissidents from the PML-N to cobble together an
alliance and form a government in 2002.
The largely center-conservative party has seen its
power base dented through its association with Musharraf as polls show the
president's falling popularity in the face of the resurgent PPP and PML-N.
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MMA
|
Formed after Musharraf allied himself to the U.S.-led
anti-terror coalition in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attack on New
York and Washington, the MMA is a coalition of six Islamic parties that
emerged as a powerful challenger to the president.
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MQM
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The MQM stands for the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, a
party formed to protect the rights of the Urdu-speaking immigrants from India
after Partition. Led by Altaf Hussain
from his self-imposed exile in the UK, the party has been supportive of
Musharraf's policies and formed part of the PML-Q alliance. Frequently facing allegations of involvement
in terrorist activities, the party's recent efforts to extend its support
base to other provinces have yielded little success.
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ANP
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The Awami National Party is a nationalist leftist party
based in the North West Frontier province that and enjoys widespread
popularity with ethnic Pakhtuns. The
ANP did not enjoy much success in 2002 but has renewed hopes as the MMA's
following fades in the Frontier.
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PTI
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Pakistan Tehrik I Insaf is headed by the
cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan. Vitriolic in his criticism of
Musharraf's policies, Khan has failed to capitalize on his popularity as a
sportsman, seeing his party take just one seat in the 2002 elections. PTI has
said it will boycott the 2008 elections.
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3.
Media System
There are two
types of Media System in any country – Public (Finance & Control by
Government) and Mixed (by Governament and private)
Pakistan has
four types of Media organization:
i.
Government
Controlled - Despite the
wide-ranging process of electronic media liberalisation that was initiated in
2002, to date PTV has maintained its (near) monopolistic position in the
provision of terrestrial services. While cable and satellite channels were
allowed entrance into the new media market, the Pakistani government was
careful in keeping a tight control on the television programmes being offered
through terrestrial beams
ii.
Privately
owned : - Many of the
Media owners use them as a protective cover for their other business interests.
These owners are no longer media people themselves. One case in point is the
Century Publications group, which publishes the Urdu Daily Express, whose
owner, Mr Lakhani, also heads the American fast-food chain McDonalds in
Pakistan.
iii.
Army
owned - A major portion of Government advertising
budget is consumed by army led media organisations as an study mentions –
“In certain cases, when news
media did not comply with the directives imparted by the military
administration, they were simply taken over, as happened to publishing house
Progressive Papers Limited (PPL) and to the newspapers that it owned: The
Pakistan Times, Imroze and the weekly Lailo Nahar. Because of suspicions that
their editors had socialist leanings, in 1959 the government of Ayub Khan,
under the cover of the Pakistan Security Act, moved to change the management of
these newspapers in order to prevent them from publishing material that could
allegedly ‘endanger the defence, external affairs or security of Pakistan’. In
1964 the takeover of PPL was eventually completed by transforming it into the
National Press Trust (NPT). Journalists working for this new media group,
which, along the way, acquired nine other newspapers, proved their value as
staunch supporters of military action through successive military regimes. In
fact, when General Yahya Khan took over from his predecessor in 1969, they
welcomed the appearance of martial law and its related emergency actions. The
very close relationship linking the NPT to the country’s establishment was also
underlined by its financial situation. In 1983 the newspapers belonging to the
NPT were thought to consume ‘at least half, if not more, of the Government
advertising budget drawn from the public exchequer’.”
iv.
Militia
owned – out of
control of Pakistan government and propagated by radical Islami groups.
A brief
overview of today :
·
Pakistan has a vibrant media landscape,
which in spite of political pressure and direct bans that they are sometimes
subject to from the state. After having been liberalised in 2002, the
television sector experienced a media boom. In the fierce competitive
environment that followed commercial interests became paramount and quality
journalism gave way to sensationalism. Although the radio sector has not seen
similar growth, independent radio channels are numerous and considered very
important sources of information – especially in the rural areas.
·
The Pakistani media landscape reflects a
multi-linguistic, multi-ethnic and class-divided society. There is a clear
divide between Urdu and English media. Urdu media, particularly the newspapers,
are widely read by the masses – mostly in rural areas. The English media is
urban and elite-centric, is more liberal and professional compared to the Urdu
media. English print, television and radio channels have far smaller audiences
than their Urdu counterparts, but have greater leverage among opinion makers,
politicians, the business community, and the upper strata of society.
Evolution:
·
The establishment of media outlets in
Pakistan was a response to a broad nationalistic project, where some ofthe most
renowned figures in the movement for a politically independent Pakistan were
also very close to, and sometimes part of, the ownership structure of the first
national newspapers. The newspaper Dawn, founded by Quaid-e-Azam and first
published in 1941, was dedicated to countering “anti-Muslim propaganda” and
promoting for an independent Pakistan. The conservative newspaper, Nawa-e-Waqt,
established in 1940, was the mouthpiece of the Muslim elites who were among the
strongest supporters for an independent Pakistan.
·
Another peculiar characteristic of
Pakistani Media is the relationship between media & military. The various
military regimes in Pakistan have had a special interest in controlling the
media, and have been behind many of the media laws used to censor the media.One
of the first measures taken by General Ayub Khan, after the declaration of
martial law in 1958, was the establishment of the Bureau of National Research
and Reconstruction (BNR&R), which later became the Ministry of Information
and Broadcasting.
·
The emphasis on Islam as a major pillar
of national identity has led to an alliance between the custodians of Islam,
the religious leaders with the military, the civil bureaucracy, and the
intelligence services. This nexus of these national guardians has had a huge
influence on Pakistani media as they tried to use or control media to defend
their interests and the national identity.
Media Liberalisition
·
From 2002, under General Musharraf,
media faced a decisive development that would lead to a boom in Pakistani
electronic media and paved the way to it gaining political clout. New liberal
media laws broke the state’s monopoly on electronic media. TV broadcasting and
FM radio licenses were issued to private media outlets.
·
The military’s motivation for
liberalising media licensing was based on an assumption that Pakistani media
could be used to strengthen national security and counter the threat from
India. What prompted this shift was the military’s experience during two past
confrontations with India. One was the Kargil War and the other was the
hijacking of the Indian Airliner by Pakistanibased militants. In both these
instances, the Pakistani military felt that it had lost the media war to India.
The government, intelligentsia, the security agencies and the military were of
the view that Pakistan was left with no.
The result of Liberalisation: Revolution in overall media scenario
·
This assessment however proved to be
wrong as the media and in particular the many new TV channels became a powerful
force in civil society. Media became an important actor in the process that led
to the fall of Musharraf and his regime. By providing extensive coverage of the
2007 Lawyers Movement’s struggle to get the chief justice reinstated, the media
played a significant role in mobilising civil society. This protest movement,
with million of Pakistanis taking to the street in name of an independent
judiciary and democratic rule, left Musharraf with little backing from civil
society and the army. Ultimately, he had to call for elections.
·
Recently, due to a renewed interplay
between civil society organisations, the Lawyers’ Movement and the electronic
media, Pakistan’s new President, Asif Zardari had to give in to public and
political pressure and reinstate the chief justice. The emergence of powerful
civil society actors is unprecedented in Pakistani history. These could not
have gained in strength without the media, which will need to continue to play
a pivotal role if Pakistan has to develop a stronger democracy, greater
stability and take on socio-political reforms.
·
In a way , media has strongly evolved in
Pakistan with having so many constraints & socio-political pressures. About ten years ago when the state of Pakistan ended its
monopoly over the airwaves, a mushroom growth of privately owned TV and radio
channels was witnessed. Now Pakistan have 90 TV channels besides 28 foreign
channels vying for Pakistani audience. Similarly, there are at least 106
licensed FM radio station and a countless illegal FM stations mostly operated
by various madrassas.
The
following chart depicts the overview of main media groups in Pakistan:
In 2002, government
established an electronic media regulatory body called PEMRA (Pakistan
Electronic Media regulatory Authority) with a mandate of issuing licenses to
private firms for operating in Pakistani media market. Furthermore, authority
is also responsible for regulating electronic media content distribution and
monitoring; hence it can ban or put fine on any channel or company for not
following terms and criteria given by the government.
According to PEMRA’s 2009 report, it has issued licenses to 83
channels in the private sector. In the same year, about 60 channels were fully
functional in private sector including 22 news channels, 35 in general
entertainment category and 3 of the religious genre. Now in 2010, total number
of channels has reached 90. While foreign channels providing entertainment and
news are 28 in number, there are four educational channels run by Virtual
University and five by state-owned Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV).
PEMRA’s report also reveals that the electronic media industry is providing
bread and butter to 150000 people directly and seven million people indirectly
in Pakistan though at some extent these figures are quite dubious. It is
estimated that total investment in electronic media has exceeded $2.5 billion
and 17 percent of population relies on electronic media for first hand
information. The investment in media industry is growing at the rate of 07
percent per annum.
NTM (Network Television
Marketing) was the first privately owned channel which started its broadcasting
in collaboration with Shalimar Television Network (STN) with majority shares
owned by the government. In the meantime, Pakistan Air Force’s subsidiary
Shaheen Foundation inaugurated its radio channel, pay-TV system and later
Shaheen TV in 1996. Broadcasting these channels as privately owned firms,
reveals the immense powers of armed forces in Pakistan and their ability to
manipulate laws in their favor since government had not facilitated any private
channels till much later in the 90’s.
In 2001, government in the
real sense opened up the media market for private sector. Indus TV network was
the first satellite channel to air its broadcasting in Pakistan. ARY group of
companies, owned by Dubai based Pakistani businessman, started its transmission
in September 2001 and was quickly followed by GEO television network in 2002
owned by Pakistan’s biggest media group widely known as ‘Jang or Mir group’. An
unending process was triggered by these initiatives and in coming years a lot
more news and entertainment channels jumped into the business. Terrorists’
attacks on world Trade Center New York and later US led invasion in Afghanistan
and Iraq provided a chance for media companies to harvest news channel
audience. For the first time in history of Pakistan, General elections held in
2002 were covered and broadcasted by the newly born TV channels. These channels
provided the people with an opportunity to get an impartial view of this
process to some extent, since election coverage in past was solely state-owned
TV’s market. Mushrooming of TV channels in coming years can be depicted by the
following chart.
Meanwhile, the TV viewership
has reached to 86 million in 2009 which was only 63 million in 2004.
Interestingly, in the last 5 years, viewership in villages, small and medium
size cities, increased tremendously and has reached to 68 million while
metropolitan and large cities have a viewership of total 18 million. According
to some other sources, total viewership of television has reached to 115
million. Pakistani media has grown at the rate of 132 percent per year in last
one decade with 150 advertising agencies and 74 production companies.
Print media during the last
decade, has gone through noteworthy decline in number of daily newspapers and
magazines and it has been losing its business and readership to growing
television exposure though it has shown a steady increase in readership in last
6 years. Newspaper and magazine sector are on the second and third position
respectively as per media exposure to Pakistani consumers. Following is the
detailed description of these facts:
According to these figures
total exposure of print media including newspapers and magazines (72%) is still
less than 89% exposure of the television which has become a dominant medium in
last one decade. All three most circulated newspapers and top two most
circulated magazines are owned by the same media moguls who are influential in
the TV market. Print media is the oldest media and historically most
influential media which has publications in 11 languages and daily circulation
of around 4 million, despite a tremendous diversity in cultures and ethnicity in
the society of Pakistan. Urdu and Sindhi are the largest language groups in
print media while English is the third. Urdu media (including print and
electronic media), that is considered as conservative; religious and
sensational in general, is serving rural class and urban middle class. On the
other hand, English media is urban in its nature and considered as more
elitist, professional and liberal. Sindhi newspapers and channels have progressive approach
which is not found in the army dominated province of Punjab.
Radio, during the last decade,
has become an urban phenomenon due to rapid increase in FM channels; providing
entertainment around the clock. Traditionally, it is a dominated medium in
rural areas due to its wide range and unavailability of other media. Radio
waves were monopolized by state-owned Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation till
2002 and first license in private sector was issued to local channel called
Power FM 99. Now more than 106 FM channels are broadcasting in Pakistan legally
with limited mandate since they are not allowed to broadcast news. Many illegal
FM channels are also being operated especially in tribal areas by religious
groups and individuals. Radio is the third widely reached medium in country and
PEMRA issues license to operate one channel for a very high fee. High license
fee is hindering any possibility for community based groups to operate and
launch a radio station which further facilitates the large media conglomerates
to establish monopoly over radio industry. Pakistan Radio and its FM channel
101 covers 80% of territory and have access to 96.5 percent population.
According to a survey it has some 95.5 million listeners around the country who
can listen to 31 stations. Radio Pakistan programs cover a wide range of issues
including 48% music, 12.5% religion, 11% news and current affairs, 10% rural
and agriculture, 5% women, children and workers issues, 3% youth and student
issues, 2.5% sports, 2% armed forces, 2% dramas, 2% publicity campaigns and 2%
to science and technology. PBC’s external services broadcast in 70 countries in
15 different languages.
There are four main news
agencies working in Pakistan including one owned by government and other three
are subsidized by government. These factors make their impartiality and
objectivity dubious. Volume and capacity of these agencies is quite limited and
not as per the standards of the international news agencies.
DTH (direct-to-Home) services
in Pakistan are in initial stages yet and posses some lucrative opportunities
for foreign and local investors. PEMRA has issued licenses to two local
companies for DTH services but these have not become operational yet.
4.
Media Laws and Freedom of Media
Pakista’s Constitutional Obligations:-
19. Freedom of speech, etc.1
‘Every citizen shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression,
and there
shall be freedom of the press, subject to any reasonable restrictions
imposed by law in
the interest of the glory of Islam or the integrity, security or defence of
Pakistan or
any part thereof, friendly relations with foreign States, public order,
decency or
morality, or in relation to contempt of court, [commission of] or
incitement to an
offence.’
General Ayub
Khan, after the declaration of martial law in 1958, was the establishment of
the Bureau of National Research and Reconstruction (BNR&R), which later
became the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
The
first step in introducing media laws
in the country was done by the then military ruler Field Martial Ayub Khan who
promulgated the Press and Publication Ordinance (PPO) in 1962. The law
empowered the authorities to confiscate newspapers, close down news providers,
and arrest journalists. Using these laws, Ayub Khan nationalised large parts of
the press and took over one of the two largest news agencies. The other
agencies was pushed into severe crisis where and had to seek financial support
from the government. Pakistan Radio and TV, which made was established in
mid-1960’s was also brought under the strict control of the government.
More draconian additions were
made to the PPO during the reign of General Zia Haq in the 1980’s. Censorship
during the Zia years was direct, concrete and dictatorial. Newspapers were
scrutinised; critical or undesired sections of an article censored. In the wake
of Zia Haq’s sudden death and the return of democracy, the way was paved to
abate the draconian media laws through a revision of media legislation called
the Revised PPO (RPPO).
Legislation:-
Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority Ordinance 2002 (As amended
in 2007)2
Section 19: Licence
to broadcast or operate
Authority has power to grant broadcasting or distribution service licences
and impose
terms and conditions on such.
Section 20: Terms
and conditions
A broadcaster or CTV operator who is issued a licence under this Ordinance
shall:
(a) respect the sovereignty, security and integrity of the Islamic Republic
of
Pakistan;
(b) respect the national, cultural, social and religious values and the
principles
of public policy as enshrined in the Constitution of the Islamic Republic
of
Pakistan;
(c) ensure that programmes and advertisements do not encourage violence,
terrorism, racial, ethnic or religious discrimination, sectarianism,
extremism,
militancy or hatred;
...
Section 33: Offences
and Penalties
(1) Any broadcaster or CTV operator or person who violates or abets the
violation of
any of the provisions of the Ordinance shall be guilty of an offence punishable
with a
fine which may extend to one million rupees.
(2) Where such broadcaster or CTV operator or person repeats the violation
or
abetment, such person shall be guilty of an offence punishable with
imprisonment for
a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both.
(3) Where the violation, or abetment of the violation of any provision of
this
Ordinance is made by a person who does not hold a licence, such violation
shall be
punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to four years, or
with
fine, or with both.
Regional Obligations
Pakistan is not party to any relevant regional treaties.
1 Constitution of Pakistan, available at: http://www.pakistani.org/pakistan/constitution/, last accessed
19 January 2009.
2 Available at www.pemra.gov.pk/ordinance.html, last accessed 19 January 2009.
International Obligations
Party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
Article 193
1. Everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference
2. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall
include freedom to
seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of
frontiers, either
orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other
media of his choice.
3. The exercise of the rights provided for in paragraph 2 of this article
carries with it special
duties and responsibilities. It may therefore be subject to certain
restrictions, but these shall
only be such as are provided by law and are necessary:
(a) For respect of the rights or reputations of others;
(b) For the protection of national security or of public order, or of
public health or morals.
The International Bar Association is not responsible for the content or
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the time and we have no control over the availability of the linked pages.
3 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, available at:
http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/a_ccpr.htm, last accessed 19 January 2009.
5.
Political Economy of Media
Many of the thinkers blame British rulers for The Partition of India and birth of Pakistan.
It can be seen in the relationship of British government’s advertisements to
Dawn newspaper and mouthpiece of Mohammad ali Jinna’s Party All India Muslim
League. This newspaper was started in 1941 bu Mr. Jinna and Liyakat Ali Khan and gave a historic rise
in dissemination of their thoughts to the public. All of this was heartly
financed by government’s advertisements. Through this newspaper he succeeded to
break the traditional Muslim political System in Aligarh Punjab, Sindh,
Baluchistan and East Bengal applying different means.
Commercial
Interests & Media
Firstly, it is indeed the marketing managers of the
media groups who decide on the space and coverage of issues. Secondly, the
owners exercise a tremendous influence on space and coverage of the news
reports, on administrative matters, and on the editorial policy, which is
drafted in accordance with their political and commercial interests. Thirdly,
this category of the media owners has meanwhile managed to target and take over
the representative institution of the professional editors. By doing so, the
previous division between editorial and administrative policies, which provided
some space for unbiased journalism, has ceased to exist. The outcome of the
increased importance of these commercial factors can be seen in the
disproportionately high number of advertisements and of news and analysis
concerning politics in both print and electronic media. What is left is
negligible space for coverage of social issues, which, along with human rights
issues, are not on the agenda of most of the Pakistani media.
Political
Interest & Media
Political parties in the past have tried to establish
daily newspapers that could function as their communication organs to the
masses, for example, in 1970 the PPP launched the daily Masawat. Established in
the wake of the political campaign leading to the 1970 general elections, today
the newspaper can be considered a “dummy” newspaper, due to its very limited
circulation. The daily Jassarat of Jamat-e-Islami (JI) is another remnant of
that period. The JI, a religious political party, owns a large media group
which includes a daily newspaper (Jassarat), and several weeklies and
monthlies; the weeklies Asia, Friday Special and Takbeer, all in Urdu, are
among the more prominent ones. Apart from JI’s official publications, some
individuals who are or have been affiliated with the party, or inspired by its
religious and political ideology, run other media groups. Examples include
Ummat Group of Publications, based in Karachi, and Insaaf Group of
Publications, based in Lahore. Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (Fazlur Rehman group),
another mainstream political party, has a monthly Urdu-language magazine,
Al-Jamiah, published from Rawalpindi.
Various
special interest groups, particularly the military, found for-sale journalists
willing to produce or withhold stories. According to a report by centre of
Media assistance, 80% Media workers blamed low salaries, lack of benefits such
as health or injury insurance, poor job security, and lacks professional
standards for fostering “blackmail journalism” in Pakistan’s media market.
Political and Army system is in fewer hands, most of them try to make money, as
the picture shows:-
Army controls a large number of public-sector companies and in
cooperatives. For instance, it has created the largest goods transportation
company in the country, and is the largest contractor for the construction of
roads and for the collection of tolls. Cooperative ventures are normally small-
and medium-sized, and are carried out by the various military commands. The
most visible level of the military’s economic structure, however, is
represented by four welfare foundations,59 which engage in business ventures as
diverse as bakeries, farms, schools, private security firms, commercial banks,
insurance companies, radio and television channels, and fertiliser, cement and
cereal manufacturing plants. Although military personnel tend to downplay the
military's influence over them, they are all controlled at the top by senior
generals or members of the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
6.
Conclusion
It is said that politics cannot do without media and
the kinds of (news) which we have would struggle without politics.
·
Freedom
to work for journalist
Pakistan is a Muslim-majority
country. Hence, it has several pro-Muslim laws in its Constitution. Freedom
House ranked Pakistan 134th out of 196 countries in its 2010 Freedom of the
Press Survey. Pakistan's score was 61 on a scale from 1 (most free) to 100
(least free), which earned a status of "not free".
Many countries across the globe are cheering their
good fortune at having environments where their media operates mostly without
fear or favour. But in Pakistan, at
least 118 journalists have been killed in Pakistan since 1947, no less than 80
since the year 2000 and at least 15 in the last 15 months. The staggering
average for the last 12 years comes to a journalist killed every 50 days.
Virtually all were killed for their work.
Newspapers,
television, and radio are regulated by the Pakistan
Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), which occasionally halts
broadcasts and closes media outlets. Publication or broadcast of “anything
which defames or brings into ridicule the head of state, or members of the
armed forces, or executive, legislative or judicial organs of the state,” as
well as any broadcasts deemed to be “false or baseless” can bring jail terms of
up to three years, fines of up to 10 million rupees (US$165,000), and license
cancellation. The Blasphemy law can bring
fines and prison sentences of up to three years, while defiling the Quran requires
imprisonment for life, and defaming Muhammad requires a
death sentence.
·
Give
more participation to women in media
Participation of women at all
levels of media organisations should be enriched, because women issues in the
news are least covered items. Any society cannot neglect its half population
and issues related to them.
Findings
of a 2011 study by the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) confirms
the steep climb for Pakistan’s female journalists.
The
study concluded, “News companies in Pakistan appear to present an unwelcoming
workplace for women journalists. Few are getting in, with men outnumbering
women five to one. Neither can women look to company policies to assure their
day-to-day well-being.”
IWMF’s
Global Report on the Status of Women in the News Media surveyed 10
Pakistani news companies−four newspapers, five TV stations, and one radio
station. Among the findings:
a.
Women who are hired find themselves in tiny numbers at all levels
of the organization.
b. Few companies surveyed have a gender equity policy, none has a
sexual harassment policy, and fewer than half have a maternity leave policy.
None has a policy to return women to their same jobs after maternity leave.
c. At middle and senior management levels, women’s participation is
16.7 percent and 13.8 percent respectively. Men fill nearly all
editor-in-chief, bureau chief, managing editor, and similarly important
administrative posts.
Recommendations
a. Safety concerns:-
Pakistan’s
journalists need training in how to cover conflict. Online resources in crisis
reporting and conflict sensitive journalism are available through media groups
such as International Center for Journalists and the Poynter Institute for
Media Studies and could be helpful to Pakistan’s press corps.
Safety
training and risk awareness must become part of the overall media development
strategy in Pakistan.Some training is being done, but on a spotty basis.
Greater efforts should be made by Pakistan’s media companies, journalism
organizations, and outside supporters to coordinate and develop collaborative
strategies. InterMedia and the Pakistan Press Foundation monitor violence
against journalists and provide some safety training. Cooperation with those
organizations could expand initiatives and outreach to freelancers, especially
those who work in conflict zones; small media outlets; and stringers in rural
areas.
b. Training and Education
Emphasis
should be placed on modernizing journalism education in Pakistan’s
universities, moving from theory-based curricula to practical training that
prepares students for today’s media market. Journalism students and journalism
educators need to be versed in social responsibility and reporting in a country
where violence is pervasive.
c.
Rural
and regional Media
It is the
necessary that the rural and - media
should be empowerd to come in the mainstream, so that the tribal mentality of
rural Pakistan can be changed, modernized and educated. Currently rural media
either works in hand of fanatic groups or the politicians, who do not want the
development of lower class.
