Journalists’ community rejects Punjab Defamation Act 2024
Uchsharif: Journalists community of historical town Uchsharif vehemently rejected the Punjab Defamation Act 2024, denouncing it as a serious assault on press freedom and branding it a “black law”.
A meeting of the Uch Press Club & Media Group Uchsharif was held under the chairmanship of the President Rural Media Network Pakistan (RMNP) Ehsan Ahmed Sehar in a local hotel and attended by members of the executive committee and general council of the press club last night.
The meeting argued that the law, rushed through without due consideration, not only establishes a parallel judicial system but also empowers self-styled tribunals to impose hefty fines ranging from Rs3 million to Rs30 million.
The press club body adopted a unanimous resolution expressing deep concerns that this law would provide the administration with unchecked authority to suppress dissenting voices. Rural Media Network Pakistan will not accept such draconian legislation and stands ready to protest alongside other journalists’ organisations, President Ehsan Ahmed Sehar announced while chairing the meeting.
Meeting demanded of Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif to take all stakeholders into confidence so the apprehensions of media organizations be removed. President Press Club Irshad Ahmed Shad and other senior journalists also addressed the meeting and expressed their solidarity with the Joint Action Committee of the media organisations.
Source: RMNP