JournalismPakistan.com
April 19, 2022

ISLAMABAD—Newly appointed Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb has announced disbanding of the Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA).

At a news conference shortly after taking the oath, she said that any law that undermines the people's constitutional right to freedom of expression would not be accepted.

"PMDA stands disbanded in whatever shape or form it was working in."

The minister also expressed sympathy for journalists whose programs were taken off air under the previous government.

"If freedom of expression remains in the society, it not only makes the society evolve but, in my opinion, and in my party's opinion, it further strengthens the government's performance and actions."

She announced that in the presence of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), no other regulatory authority was needed.

The Pakistan Media Development Authority Ordinance, 2021, the brainchild of former Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, aimed to create an independent, efficient, effective, and transparent Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA) for regulating all forms of media and bring them under one converged regulator and statutory Authority.

Under the PMDA, the ousted government wanted to regulate films, electronic, print, and digital media, including Web TV, OTT, and news websites. However, different media houses, journalists' unions, and press freedom organizations protested against it. Thankfully, PMDA never saw the light of day.