Following orders issued by the Supreme Court on Wednesday, while hearing a petition on why the relevant authorities had failed to impose the code of conduct agreed upon for the electronic media, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting officially issued the Code of Conduct, with amendments made in Pemra Rules 2009. The court had stated that the code would come into effect in any case whether or not it was notified by the ministry. The ministry has chosen to do so. The amendments themselves are essentially focused around the issue of hate speech which has come up with increasing frequency over the past months, and warned all licensed media channels that hate speech will not be permitted by any host or guest on any show. This is a positive step. In fact, there are many clauses in the code that are highly welcome. For example, there is much merit in the clauses banning hate speech, including any expression that may incite violence, hatred or discrimination on the basis of religion, ethnicity, colour, race, gender, origin, caste, mental or physical disability; material that incites or condones ouster of a democratic set-up; derogatory remarks about any religion, sect, community or use of visuals or words contemptuous of religious sects and ethnic groups or which promote communal and sectarian attitudes or disharmony; content that is likely to incite, aid, abet, glamourise or justify violence, commission of any crime, terror or material that leads to serious public disorder; material which amounts to intimidation, blackmail or false incrimination of any person; statements of proscribed organisations or their representatives unless such statement is an admission, which may be in the larger public interest for exposing their ideology, abuse of religion or barbarism provided always that such broadcast does not in any way aid, abet, glorify or give excuse to their means and ways in any shape or form; calling someone anti-Pakistan, traitor, or anti-Islam. The gathering of information is the right of every citizen and best performed by professionals such as journalists and cameramen. The media must not be pressurised to adopt certain perspectives on issues. We, therefore, need to play a careful game. On the one hand, the media must show responsibility and patriotism by doing all it can to ensure that it is responsible when broadcasting. In turn, government authorities must allow information to flow freely without attempting to mould or tilt it in a particular fashion. Both requirements need to go hand in hand. Only if this happens can we move forward in terms of media content and improve the ability of our powerful channels to speak for the people and protect their interests while also giving out the information that is the right of every citizen to access.
pk.shafaqna.com
