Sindh Governor returns Journalists Protection Bill for reconsideration

The recently Protection of Journa­lists and other Media Practi­tioners bill which was passed by the Sindh Assembly is lingering in thick air as Sindh Gover­nor Imran Ismail has refused to give his approval and returned the bill as it has not given any clarification on the expense to be incurred on the commission to be constituted under the draft Journalists’ Protection Law.

The governor pointed out that although the bill proposed formation of a government-funded commission, but failed to contemplate any finance committee to supervise income/spending nor any mechanism for third party audit of government funding. He suggested to include “an appropriate mechanism for the purpose” in the bill.

The Karachi Union of Journalists has expressed concerned over the matter. In a joint statement issued on Sunday, KUJ President Ejaz Ahmed and its General Secretary Aajiz Jamali said they hope that the Sindh government would expeditiously work to once again finalise the draft of the law, keeping in view the legal observations and points raised by the governor pertaining to the bill.