Media protection bill.

BRIEFLY, it appeared there may be light at the end of the tunnel for Pakistan's beleaguered journalist community. However, the outcome of the cabinet's deliberations on the Protection of Journalists and Media Professionals Bill, drafted by the human rights ministry, has been discouraging. For it seems the government representatives have decided to club this comprehensive effort to create an enabling environment for an independent media with another media-related bill previously drafted by the information ministry. Such a conflation, one may be sure, is likely to culminate in a watered-down piece of legislation.

The bill drawn up by the human rights ministry is worth adopting on its own for several reasons; a few are particularly worth citing. One, it premises the importance of ensuring journalists' safety on their fundamental and inalienable rights as citizens, rather than being an 'indulgence' that can be withdrawn at will. Second, the bill unflinchingly lays out the real problems that journalists in Pakistan face, and addresses the critical issue of impunity by setting up a seven-member commission - led by a former Supreme Court judge - with wide-ranging powers of investigation and redressal. The statutory body would be duty-bound to investigate and prosecute within 14 days all forms of harassment, coercion and violence against media professionals - including forced or involuntary disappearances, kidnapping, abduction, etc. Third, the draft stipulates that counterterrorism or national security laws shall not be used arbitrarily to detain journalists or hinder their work. In a repressive environment where the 'national security'...