The protest against the proposed Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA) was held outside the Parliament House which was only attended by working journalists as media owners and prominent anchorpersons remained absent.
Besides them, prominent anchorpersons like Kamran Khan, Shahzeb Khanzada, Kashif Abbasi, and others were also not present in the sit-in.
The protest was held on the call of journalist bodies under the banner of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ).
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The protesters started their march from National Press Club (NPC) and reached outside Parliament House.
The demonstrators stayed there overnight and announced to stay there until the address of President Arif Alvi today at 4 pm.
The most interesting factor of the demonstration was the absence of the media owners or any representative of Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA).
Interestingly, PBA was the first body that had opposed a new authority under which the media outlets could be fine up to Rs 250 million for running unverified news.
Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry alleged that the media owners consider fake news as their right and are enticing their employees with a bonus to sit on the roads.
چند میڈیا مالکان فیک نیوز کو اپنا حق قرار دے رہےہیں اور اپنے ملازمین کو کہ رہے ہیں تنخواہ کے ساتھ بونس بھی لیں اور سڑک پر نظر آئیں، عام میڈیا ورکر کو تحفظ اور فیک نیوز کے خلاف بھاری جرمانہ یہ قانون صحافت کے کیسے خلاف ہے؟ جھوٹی خبر کیسے بنیادی حق ہو سکتا ہے؟
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) September 13, 2021
The minister questioned, ‘how can fake news be a fundamental right?’