Pakistan’s new government moved yesterday to lift harsh restrictions on the media that were imposed by President Pervez Musharraf under a state of emergency in November, a minister said.
Information Minister Sherry Rehman introduced a parliamentary bill proposing an end to curbs on live broadcasts and punishments for journalists ranging from heavy fines to imprisonment and confiscation of equipment.
Rehman, formerly the spokeswoman for slain opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, is part of the new government that took office last month after trouncing Musharraf’s allies in elections. “The amendments will remove the entire apparatus of restrictions imposed on the press,” Rehman told reporters outside the National Assembly.
Under the laws introduced by Musharraf, reporters currently face jail terms as well as a 5 million rupee (US$82,000) fine for any live program or publication that “defamed” the president, the army or the government. Images of terrorist activities, including the aftermath of a recent rash of suicide bombings, were also banned.
Several private news channels were also taken off the air for several weeks under the state of emergency that Musharraf imposed on Nov. 3 and then lifted on Dec. 15.
Rehman, herself a former journalist, said that Musharraf’s regime had imposed “silence” on the media instead of improving its own performance, adding: “We will do no such thing.” “We will put our own house in order and we will allow the press to broadcast not just live telecast but all that they feel fit to broadcast,” she said.
Meanwhile, cracks are showing in the government over growing differences on how to reverse Musharraf’s legacy.
Reinstating senior judges purged last year by Musharraf has been the main commitment holding together the disparate coalition.
The parties of Bhutto and former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif have promised to bring back the judges through a parliamentary resolution by the end of this month. But Sharif’s party wants them restored immediately, while Bhutto’s party wants a comprehensive judicial reform package.
A leading member of Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party — Law Minister Farooq Naek — said yesterday that lawmakers should work out a solution.
Parliament could then decide the issue “in the manner if feels fit and expedient,” he said.
Musharraf purged the Supreme Court just before it could rule on the legality of his re-election as president last October. Naek announced last week that a Cabinet committee under his leadership would decide how to restore the judges.
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