Pakistan gets representation on ICC Executive Committee

LAHORE: Pakistan has gotten representation on the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Executive Committee.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Najam Sethi was elected to the newly formed ICC Executive Committee (ExCO). According to a PCB press release, ExCo comprises of five members with representation from India, England and Australia besides two others with Pakistan being elected as the fourth and the West Indies as the fifth member of the committee.

The ExCo will have a number of committees reporting to it and will deal with important matters like constitution, anti-corruption, ethics, integrity, development and HR. This will be the core committee of ICC which will meet with as much frequency as required to assist and advise the ICC Board on operational, management and administrative activities of ICC.

Najam Sethi said this was great news for Pakistan. “Our representation on ExCo would ensure the Pakistan remains involved in important decision making concerning the game of cricket. It also reflects that Pakistan now holds an important and undisputed position with the top echelon of cricket.”

ICC Anti-Corruption Code

After a request from Najam Sethi and advice from a Queen’s Counsel in the United Kingdom sought by the PCB on Mohammad Amir’s ban, the ICC has also agreed to form a committee to review its Anti-Corruption Code.

The work on the drafting of the new ICC Anti-Corruption Code has substantially progressed with a draft clause inserted into the Code permitting a banned player to be involved in domestic matches prior to the end of his ban period.

The Anti-Corruption Code will now be placed before the Board for approval soon after which the PCB will be in a position to make an application for Mohammad Amir.

Posting of judicial officers to executive posts approved

 

LAHORE: Accepting a request of the Ministry of Law, Justice and Human Rights, the National Judicial Policy Making Committee (NJPMC) on Saturday approved the posting of judicial officers to the ministry on deputation in relaxation of the National Judicial Policy.
Chaired by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJ) Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, the committee said though the posting of judicial officers against the executive posts violated the principle of the independence of judiciary, keeping in view the difficulties of the ministry the high courts may allow judicial officers to join the law department/ministry. However, the court cautioned that in such a case the judicial officers shall sever their relation with the judiciary.

Addressing the meeting, Chief Justice Tassaduq Jillani said the judiciary would enhance the prestige of the country in the world, as it was getting the attention of foreign intellectuals by upholding the rule of law and constitutionalism.

He said compared with the previous years, an overwhelming participation of international delegates in the International Judicial Conference-2014 held in Islamabad was a proof of it. “This is a good omen,” he added.

He said the superior judiciary had introduced information technology in its system to regulate case flow management, digitisation of libraries and administrative record, SMS alert to lawyers and an electronic attendance system for the staff etc.

“However, though these initiatives have increased the efficiency of the courts, “we are still lagging behind achieving the optimum benefits of technology,” he added.

He expressed the hope that a unified integrated information system would not only foster access to important information about case flows, but also improve court efficiency by reducing the time-consuming paper-based process.

“The constitution of the National Judicial Automation Committee (NJAC) is an important step towards the realisation of this dream,” he said and added that the meeting would review the status of the automation project of the superior judiciary.

“We are passing through a crucial stage of history and are confronting various problems, including extremism and intolerance in society”, the CJ said. He said by promoting tolerance and enforcing rights of citizens, a harmonious society could be established.

The judiciary being an important organ of the state can play a vital role in promoting tolerance by ensuring the expeditious dispensation of justice, he added.

He urged that the year 2014 be declared a year of Promoting Religious and Cultural Tolerance in Society which had been approved by the NJPMC.

The committee also considered the rules framed by the High Court of Sindh to regulate the Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) proceedings.

The CJ/Chairman NJPMC took exception to the situation and observed that it had been more than 10 years since Section 89-A was introduced in the Civil Procedure Code (CPC) for early resolution of disputes by resorting to ADR techniques but regrettably the rules were not framed for the benefits of the provision to trickle down.

After deliberations, a committee was constituted under the chairmanship of Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, Judge Supreme Court of Pakistan, comprising a judge from each high court to propose uniform rules to make Section 89-A of the CPC effective.

The committee also considered the recommendations of the International Judicial Conference 2014 and observed that the recommendations made by the working groups were worth considering and, if implemented, these would improve the administration of justice and pave the way for promoting tolerance and the rule of law in society.

After deliberations, the committee approved them for implementation.

The chief justice took serious notice of the delay in the construction of district courts and model jail for Islamabad and observed that the recent suicide attack on the Islamabad District Courts, wherein precious lives of litigants, lawyers and judicial officer were lost, had prompted an early completion of projects to provide a safe and peaceful environment to litigants to pursue their cases.

The chief justice constituted a committee comprising one judge each of the Supreme Court and Islamabad High Court to oversee the projects for their early completion.

The meeting was attended by Chief Justice Federal Shariat Court Agha Rafiq Ahmed Khan, Chief Justice Balochistan High Court Qazi Faez Isa, Chief Justice Lahore High Court Umar Ata Bandial, Chief Justice Sindh High Court Maqbool Baqar and Chief Justice Peshawar High Court Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel.

Chief Justice Islamabad High Court Muhammad Anwar Khan Kasi; Chief Justice Supreme Court of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Justice Mohammad Azam Khan; Chief Judge Supreme Appellate Court Gilgit-Baltistan Justice Rana Muhammad Arshad Khan and Chief Judge, Chief Court, Gilgit-Baltistan Justice Sahib Khan also attended the meeting.

Pemra should be under parliament instead of executive

 

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage on Wednesday decided to form a task force, comprising legal experts to review 64 laws related to the media in the country.
With reference to the recommendations by the Media Commission, appointed by the Supreme Court in 2013, the Standing Committee agreed to the actions and proposals and adopted the resolution as follows:

* In the age of independence of media, globalization, IT and information, it is important to have a specific role of the Ministry of Information for policy setting, to facilitate media development with freedom and accountability.

* Review of the existing 64 laws on media is critical. New laws are equally required, specifically for advertising regulation, convergence, cross media ownership negative impacts, and self-regulation. The Standing Committee will be having special meetings with legal experts on this critical subject soon and will be appointing a Media Laws Review Task Force with a six-month mandate to examine 64 laws and to propose amendments as well as new laws where required.

* Make Pemra truly autonomous and accountable to parliament and not to the executive. Thus a change in mode of appointment of chairperson and its members along the lines of the ECP is recommended.

* The existence of a Ministry of Information is important. However, its restructuring is critical. The ministry and bodies, under the purview of the ministry, have assured the committee that their restructuring plans would be presented within one month to the committee.

* Ministry of Information and IT can be merged due to new areas of convergence. A new name for the ministry to be Ministry for Public Information, Media and National Heritage.

* Create a single new integrated regulatory body by merging Pemra, PTA including cinema on the lines of OFCOM in the UK. In the cinema sector, there is a need to ensure inter-provincial harmony in the implementation of censorship rules in the provinces. All foreign films to be censored by the federal government. Provincial censor boards should include federal representation.

* Policy to ensure minimal time for Pakistani content on TV and radio to be strengthened.

* Public, regular, structured dialogue of government and regulatory bodies with all stakeholders relevant to electronic media is necessary. Similar regular structured dialogue with non-media stakeholders i.e civil society, is extremely important.

* Judiciary should conduct expeditious and conclusive disposal of the large number of stay orders, obtained by TV and radio against Pemra as at present even non-licensed TV channels are operating freely.

* Actual compliance should be ensured by media of their own codes and transparency by appointing internal ombudsman and compliance coordinators to respond to complaints and concerns of citizens.

* Temporarily freeze (except community licenses) issuance of licenses for new TV channels as cable TV distribution capacity is already saturated and until transition to digital technology.

* Ensure effective actions by government authorities to prevent smuggling and sale of DTH set top boxes.

* Ensure licenses are issued for valid, eligible community radio stations and community TV channels with safeguards.

* PTV, PBC, APP should be transformed into genuine public service entities which are even handed and fair for them to be consistent with Article 19. New system should be introduced for appointment of chairman, CEO and board of directors. Government should look into options for restructuring the ownership of PTV, PBC and APP to make their ownership more broad-based and public service oriented.

* A new law is required within which self-regulation by media, can be conducted in a transparent and accountable manner, so that self-interest doesn’t substitute self-regulation in media.

* The funding for Press Council to be equitably shared by media proprietors (such as APNS) and other segments in order for it to be independent. Alleged corrupt practices indulged into by media and government should be investigated and discouraged.

* There is a need for more effective practice of existing codes by media themselves.

* Strict effective action is needed by Pemra and Press Council to prevent excesses by media against public figures, thereby preventing unfair defamation or ridicule of public figures. Strict action needs to be taken by the Council of complaints appointed by Pemra which could include parliamentarians to prevent unfair defamation.

* Forensic audits should be conducted to determine whether corruptions occurred in award of advertising contracts by NAB, FIA, etc.

* There is a need to rationalise the principles on the basis of which advertising rates are determined for placement of govt advertising in print and electronic media so as to end the discrepancies. Government should propose single transparent policy for awarding advertisement.

* There is a need to reform the system by which advertisements of federal and provincial governments are placed by restructuring the Audit Bureau of Circulation and inducting reputed firms from private sector to make ABC credible; and by other methods such as possible decentralization.

* ECP is urged to implement recommendation of Media Commission to ensure transparency in use of funds for advertising in the forthcoming local government elections. Pemra should facilitate preparation of options for new revenue model for TV channels to reduce existing 100% dependence on advertising.

* More effective regulatory actions are required to reduce imbalanced interruptions, disruptions, intrusions of advertising on TV and radio.

* Secret funds have been abolished. Second list will be presented to the committee and to the public after audit or as per SC instructions.

* It is considered opinion of the committee that Pemra has not satisfactorily addressed the concerns raised by the Media Commission Report regarding: the restructuring of Pemra, autonomy of Pemra from executive, Direct Parliamentary Purview & Oversight of Pemra, review of the Pemra Act 2002 (Amended 2007) and Private Monopolies in Media created as a result of the Amended Pemra Act 2007.

Unfortunately without addressing these core issues, it is difficult to conceive that PEMRA will be able to respond to the challenges it faces as an independent media regulator. It is therefore recommended that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting should undertake an immediate examination of these concerns, with a clear deadline in mind, to suggest the best ways and means to implement the recommendations of the Media Commission.

* Ministry of Information has committed itself to help improve security for journalists and media. However, it has not presented any coherent plan so far. It needs to present an overview of its security plan, which it has designed after its consultations with the various media organisations. Ministry also needs to give action plan on the Committee of Information recommendations on the same.

* The existing reliance on an predominantly big cities audience measurement system to determine TV ratings should be replaced with new alternative options which accurately reflect the countries demographic realities.

* As per commitment made by PBA to the media commission, the actual rates charged by PBA members should be placed on the Internet and transparency ensured on the assets, income, expenses of media proprietors and senior journalists including TV anchors.

MNAs Parveen Masood Bhatti, Arifa Khalid Pervez, Marriyum Aurangzeb, Imran Zafar Leghari, Belum Hasnain, Murad Saeed, Dr Muhammad Azhar Khan Jadoon, Saman Sultana Jafri and Naeema Kishwer also attended the meeting.

Meanwhile, Secretary Information Dr Nazir Saeed informed the National Assembly’s Standing Committee that on the issue of access to information, the government adopted a private member bill, which was approved by the Senate. However, the Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA) and some other stakeholders wanted to give their input in the proposed law. Now, he said, the bill had been sent to the cabinet, and then it would be sent to the Senate again for approval.

He said on the directives of the prime minister, the ministry was working on restructuring of public sector autonomous organisations and a ministerial committee headed by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar was also constituted to look into the matter.

Senior journalists Hamid Mir and Absar Alam said media houses and senior journalists should be bound to declare their income and assets through the Federal Board of Revenue. They also urged the committee to issue directives for the release of second report about recipients of secret funds form the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

It was said the second list carrying the names of those media persons who received funds from secret funds would be made public soon after completion of the audit.

Minister for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage Pervaiz Rashid said he had no objection to making public all lists related to release of secret funds.