PFUJ ended 24 hour long sit-in outside the parliament house against PMDA

 Thousands of journalists across the country participated in the protest sit-in against new proposed media authority 

The various journalists organisations led by Pakistan Federal Union of Journalist (PFUJ) called off the 24 hour long protest sit-in outside the parliament house against the proposed Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA) . The media organisations and journalist community has rejected the PMDA as repressive an d black law aimed to control the media. 

The journalist leaders and working journalists across the country participated in the march and and protest sit-in. The protest call was given by various journalist bodies, headed by the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists.

 The future strategy will be decided in a meeting of the federal executive council of PFUJ in Lahore from 15 to 17 September. The nationwide protest movement might be announced  after the PFUJ meeting. 

Political parties, student unions and members of civil society express solidarity with protesting journalists outside Parliament House in Islamabad on Monday, joining them in raising their voice against the proposed Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA) bill.

The protesting journalists had marched on Sunday from the National Press Club and reached outside the Parliament House. They had been staging a sit-in since and continued the protest till President Dr Arif Alvi’s address to the joint session of parliament, which took place after 4 pm on Monday.

PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari addressed the protest, saying that journalists in the country had bravely fought against and defeated former president Pervez Musharraf in the past, and they would also put up a fight against the incumbent government and its decisions challenging media freedom.

Inside the parliament, opposition members staged a vigorous protest against the PMDA bill during President Alvi's address. Carrying banners such as "We reject media martial law" and "Opposition rejects PMDA", they shouted slogans against the government and Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Following Alvi's address, Shehbaz, Bilawal, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, an MQM delegation led by Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Syed Aminul Haque, and other lawmakers visited the protest camp again to express solidarity with journalists.

On Sunday night, former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, PML-N Information Sec­retary Marriyum Aurangzeb and MNA Mohsin Dawar, among others, visited the camp site outside the parliament to express solidarity with the journalists.

Several politicians, including Senator Sherry Rehman and Raza Rabbani of the PPP, visited the protest camp on Monday as well and addressed the protesters.

                                                                    Zafar Ahmad