Efforts afoot to make advertisement policy more transparent: Marriyum

Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb on Monday informed the National Assembly’s committee that efforts were afoot to make the advertisement policy more transparent.
“The ministry has worked out amendments to make the advertisement policy more transparent,” she said during the NA Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting’s meeting, chaired by Javeria Zafar Aheer.
She said the committee would be briefed about the amendments in detail at its next meeting.
Marriyum informed the body that the ministry had revived radio commentary on T20 world cup after a gap of 13 years.
She said the Film Censor Board of 1979 was being changed drastically.
Film industry was already on zero taxation, she pointed out. Expressing her shock and dismay over the tragic killings of Journalists Arshad Sharif and Sadaf Naeem, she said thorough investigations of the tragic incidents would be conducted and details would be shared with the committee possibly in its next meeting. She regretted that one of the ministers of Punjab government had asked the husband of Sadaf Naeem not to take any legal action of the killing of his wife. The federal government would conduct transparent investigation to bring forth the facts, she added.
The protection and security of journalists would be ensured in the country, she said adding relevant laws were being made strict in that regard.
She said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government had imposed restrictions on journalists and made their life miserable during its four year rule. “The murder of a Pakistani journalist in Kenya is unacceptable,” the minister remarked.
The committee chairperson stressed on strengthening the defamation laws.
Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) Chairman Saleem Baig said ban had been imposed on coverage of live speeches on electronic media, but allowed to telecast recorded speeches with effective delay mechanism in line with PEMRA code of conduct 2015. At the outset of the meeting, the chairperson paid rich tributes to slain journalists Arshad Sharif and Sadaf Naeem and prayed for their departed souls.
The meeting was attended by Ms Nafisa Shah, Kiran Imran Dar, Zulfiqar Ali Behan and Maiza Hameed. Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb, Secretary Information Ms Shahera Shahid, Pakistan Electronic Media Regularity Authority (PEMRA) Chairman Saleem Baig. APP Managing Director Akhtar Munir and officials of Information Ministry and attached departments attended the meeting.