Pakistan’s Minister of Information announces a phone hotline to encourage information sharing between government and journalists. While not a radical step, this a welcome warming sign in a country that banned the broadcast of information “against the armed forces and judiciary” under its previous government. Minister Sherry Rehman says those days are over.
Talking about the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), Sherry said the government would not use this body to control the private TV channels.
She said soon after assuming her office as information minister she had deleted the code of conduct mentioned in the PEMRA Ordinance. However, she asked journalists to devise a code of conduct for themselves.
She said the government would legislate on issues related to the media only after consulting journalists and media stakeholders since it wanted all aboard in the decision-making process.
