World’s press condemns Pakistan plan for strict control over media

WAN-IFRA, the International Publishers Association (IPA), and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) call on Pakistani authorities to retract plans to establish the ‘Pakistan Media Development Authority’ (PMDA) that risks placing strict state control over all media. Under the pretence of “simplifying procedures and fighting disinformation”, the proposed changes to current frameworks aim to centralise under a single authority all regulations pertaining to any media. The PMDA would replace existing media regulatory bodies and would oversee ‘films, electronic, print and digital media’ across every domain, from registrations to wages, licensing to the allocation of government advertising, as well as both civil and criminal complaints procedures.