ISLAMABAD - Pakistan People’s Party chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari yesterday alleged that the government was crushing the media through various restrictions in shape of ‘black laws’.

The PPP leader participated in the sit-in staged by the journalists community outside the Parliament House to express the PPP's solidarity with them. Speaking on the occasion, Bilawal said this was not the first time the journalists were protesting against a “black law.”

“Journalists fought against similar laws by Ayub Khan, Ziaul Haq and Pervez Musharraf. Benazir Bhutto after taking charge as prime minister had abolished all restrictions against journalists. We had also removed all restrictions imposed by Musharraf and cleansed of the Constitution from all such restrictions and black laws through 18th amendment,” he said.  Bilawal said that the PPP was against the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act and it is now against the Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA).

This PMDA was an attack on journalists, democracy, judiciary and the right of employment of journalists. We will oppose this PMDA in parliament and every forum. “PPP Jiyalas (workers) will join you wherever you give a call all over Pakistan,” he added. The PPP Chairman said that the draft of PMDA was the same draft which the government wanted to impose as an ordinance.

All political parties have similar stand on independence of media

“If the government bulldozes it in the parliament we will challenge it in courts. We have doubts that this government will pass this law in a joint session of the parliament but we will challenge it at every available forum,” he said. Bilawal PPP said that in the ongoing parliamentary session the PPP will raise two issues in the parliament. One is your struggle against this black law PMDA and other issue is of sacking 20 thousand employees unjustifiably by the court.

“If the parliament can reinstate the Chief Justice of Supreme Court then why can it not reinstate sacked employees? These employees were first sacked in 1997 when they were about 30 years old and now they are sacked again when most of them have crossed 50 years of age,” he remarked.

Bilawal said that the responses which we have received from the high officials and police department about the attacks on journalists were not satisfactory and the affected journalists are also not satisfied with these responses.  He said that all the political parties have similar stand on the independence of media.

To a question about his relations with the opposition politicians, the Chairman PPP said that he has very good relations with all of them and Maulana Fazalur Rehman was doing politics for decades and he has a lot of respect for him. “We can have difference of opinion politically,” he added. Bilawal said the journalists have the capacity to wash out this black law called PMDA. He said that as long as the question of legitimacy of this government is concerned, all the opposition parties consider it as an illegitimate government.

“We wanted and still want to bring a no-confidence motion against this government because we have proved that the government could be dislodged in this way by the success of Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani as Senator from the national assembly,” the PPP chief said.

He said that the nation had to reclaim the pace of citizens from those who do not want to have them their space. He said that the way the Prime Minister and his ministers drag a certain institution in politics makes that institution controversial.

About the fifth generation war, the Chairman PPP said that these ministers and the salaried social media persons cannot defend Pakistan in this fifth generation war where every country in the world is fighting on social media against its enemy.

“These salaried social media activists who issue twitter messages against their own citizens cannot fight this war. The capable and renowned journalists can fight this war way better as they are known and respected internationally and they are accepted as impartial journalists. Their defence will be accepted world over,” he said.

He added that it is pointless to link defence day speech of the army chief to this black law PMDA as the minister of information is doing.

Bilawal said the PPP believed in constructive criticism. “When Benazir Bhutto was removing the restrictions impose on journalists by Ziaul Haq, the people said to her that they are the people who criticise her all the time so why the removal of restriction? She answered that they want to vent their anger of 10 years so if they want to vent on me then let them do so,” he reminded.

He said that this was the most inactive parliament in history where the opposition members were not allowed to speak. The parliament is a platform to solve people's issues but the minister abuse the opposition instead of discussing people's issue, he maintained.