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CPNE moot concurs on press council

KARACHI: The Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) has in principle announced the setting up of a press council.

It has been decided that the press council will be formed with the consultation of APNS and cooperation of both the parties, said a CPNE statement issued here on Friday.

It said that a decision to this effect was taken by CPNE President Arif Nizami, while winding up debate at the meeting of the CPNE standing committee.

The statement further said that Arif Nizami chaired the meeting which was also attended by CPNE Vice-President Mumtaz Tahir and Secretary General Ilyas Shakir.

It mentioned Arif Nizami as saying that the press council would be formed voluntarily without governmental assistance and with a spirit of self-accountability.

"We want that in this respect the government should also enforce the freedom of information act", he said adding that the CPNE will hold dialogue with the government in this respect.

The CPNE statement further said that the standing committee suggested that in the press council there are only two parties Ñ newspapers' owners and editors Ñ and that there cannot be any other party.

It said that the meeting also approved the formation of a committee which besides the president and secretary general of CPNE, would include M.A. Zuberi, Zia Shahid and Shaheen Qureshi. The committee will meet in Lahore on January 27.

The CPNE statement also said that the standing committee expressed full solidarity with Gujrati newspapers Millat Karachi, and Inquilab Matri and reiterated its resolve that CPNE will resist any move to close down Millat and that this would be considered an attack on freedom of the press.

It said that the CPNE also gave its reaction to the letter from the Information Ministry for appointment of representatives for the wage board award and said that this matter pertained purely to the owners and that the CPNE considered the enforcement of a wage board as detrimental to professionalism.

It said that the CPNE president had been authorised to apprise the government of the sentiments of the standing committee through a letter.

It was also decided that a seminar regarding freedom of the press would be organised in Islamabad on February 21. APP