National Congress held: PFUJ declares information ministers' declaration to be irresponsible

National Congress held: PFUJ declares information ministers' declaration to be irresponsible

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani Union of Journalists (PFUJ) said Friday that the Minister of Information should refrain from generating fake news in order to divert public attention from the shrinking public space for debate, discussion and disagreement. The PFUJ condemned the statement by Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry on the recently held PFUJ National Convention on Freedom of the Media and Expression.

In response to the tweetsand statements made by Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry and State Minister Farrukh Habib regarding the holding of the PFUJ Convention, PFUJ President Shahzada Zulfiqar and Secretary-General Nasir Zaidi called such statements irresponsible.

In a press statement issued here, the PFUJ leaders said that the event was organized by the PFUJ to hold an open debate on the increasing “unannounced censorship and curbs on the national media by the PTI government".

“Holding such open debates is a mandate and responsibility of the civil society,” the PFUJ leaders said, adding “no threats by any minister can deter us from pursuing our path to achieve the Freedom of Press and Freedom of Expression in the country."

The leadership of the PFUJ noted that since the establishment of the PTI government, Pakistan has been viewed as a country where democratic norms and practices have been compromised. Pakistan has fallen to its lowest point on the World Press Freedom Index in the past three years. That speaks volumes about the government's coercive policy towards the free media. The PFUJ leadership suggested that the minister improve the performance of his ministry rather than attacking the media and civil society.

Things that the information ministry should have done, like the recently passed law to protect journalists, are being carried out by the human rights ministry, said the PFUJ's president and general secretary. No nation can move forward without ensuring freedom of the press and the rights of media workers.

Referring to InformationMinister Fawad Chaudhry's unsubstantiated allegation that the PFUJ Convention was an anti-government event, the PFUJ leadership advised the minister to obtain adequate information from PTI leadership, including Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari and IT Minister Amin-ul - Haq who were invited by the PFUJ to speak at the Congress. They noted that in addition to the PTI leadership, leaders from PPP, MQM, PML-Q, JUI, Jamaat-i-Islami, National Party, Awami National Party, BNP and other political parties had also been invited. It was PTI and MQM that did not attend the convention while everyone else was present.

The two leaders also reminded Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry that he himself had attended the PFUJ's first national convention, held at the Marriott Hotel on March 17, 2021. The then Information Minister Shibli Faraz also took part in this conference.

Despite the irresponsible remarks by Fawad Chaudhry, the PFUJ will continue to organize such open debates and dialogues between political parties and civil society to ensure that the media is free from any pressure from the government, the statement said. We will continue to work with civil society to achieve our goal of freedom of expression and workers' rights.

Shahzada Zulfiqar and Nasir Zaidi said the PFUJ is always open to discussions with all political parties, including the incumbent government. We have never shied away from holding talks with any political party in the past and we remain determined to work with them, the joint statement says.

The information minister needs to know that in addition to working with ministers, we have also worked with the government and parliament in finalizing the law to protect journalists and media workers, the statement concluded.