Association of Pakistani independent online journalism platforms formed

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 19 November 2020

Pakistani independent online journalism platforms have formed a new association to advocate for their rights. The founding members met in Lahore to outline their mission and charter.

Summary

ISLAMABAD—Representatives of Pakistan’s independent online forums got together in Lahore for a two-day conference this week and unanimously agreed to form an association.

It will be the representative body to safeguard the rights and interests of independent online journalism platforms in Pakistan.

Freedom Network (FN) organized the conference that discussed at length issues and challenges faced by these online organizations.

Adnan Rehmat, a prominent media analyst, and journalist, representing International Media Support, and Muhammad Aftab Alam of Institute for Research, Advocacy, and Development (IRADA) were part of the event.

The participants outlined the association’s following mission and core charter:

• To support and practice independent online public interest journalism in Pakistan.
• To strive to be, from across Pakistan, the voice of the voiceless, the deliberately silenced or the often unheard and the regularly ignored.
• To represent the rights and interests of all the socio-political and economically marginalized communities ignored by the mainstream media.
• To represent, from the sidelined margins of power, Pakistan’s demographic diversity and pluralisms, including geographic, ethnic, linguist, religious, cultural, and class.
• To promote the development and professionalism of the independent online journalism sector in Pakistan.
• To be the representative body to safeguard the rights and interests of independent online journalism platforms in Pakistan.

All signatory platforms listed below became the association’s founding members.

They agreed to formally outline the mandate in follow-up meetings, including support of existing members, rules for new membership, and collaborative ideas to strengthen both the association and the charter.

The signatories:

Balochistan 24 – Mr. Ghulam Murtaza Zehri

balochistan24.com

Balochistan Voices – Mr. Adnan Aamir

balochistanvoices.com

HumSub – Mr. Adnan Wahab Khan

humsub.com.pk

IBC Pakistan – Mr. Sabookh Syed

ibcurdu.com

Journalism Pakistan – Mr. Imran Naeem Ahmad

journalismpakistan.com

Native Media – Mr. Kashif Baloch, Afshan Masab

nativemediapk

Naya Daur – Mr. Syed Ali Raza Zaidi

nayadaur.tv

Sabaat– Mr. Shahzada Irfan

sabaat.net

Sujag – Mr. Badar Alam, Mr. Tauqeer Mustafa

sujag.org

Tajziat – Mr. Muhammad Amir Rana

tazjiat.com

TheReporters – Ms. Shazia Mehboob

thereporters.pk

Tribal News Network – Mr. Tayyeb Afridi

tnn.com.pk

Voicepk – Ms. Xari Jalil

voicepk.net

KEY POINTS:

• Formation of an association for independent online journalism in Pakistan.
• Conference organized by Freedom Network to address challenges faced by online media.
• Focus on representing marginalized communities ignored by mainstream media.
• Founding members include various online platforms from across Pakistan.
• Future meetings planned to outline the association's mandate and membership rules.