Marriyum Aurangzeb announces to disband PMDA

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb has announced abolishing Pakistan Media Development Regulatory Authority (PMDA), ARY News reported on Tuesday.

“PMDA stands disbanded in whatever shape or form it was working in,” she said while addressing a press conference in Islamabad shortly after taking oath as the information minister.

Marriyum Aurangzeb said in a press conference that the black law of PMDA was being brought to suppress the voice of the media.

The minister said that there will be no restriction on freedom of expression, we strongly opposed Pakistan Media Development Regulatory Authority (PMDA) in the past and abolishing now after becoming in power.

She said that the government would review the PECA Ordinance and try to get the Journalists Protection Bill implemented as soon as possible.

“The media has gone through a dark period of 4 years, many people have been fired, many journalists have had their programs shut down, and media people have struggled with censorship.”

We believe that there will be freedom of expression, so society will run better, Marriyum Aurangzeb said.

The federal minister said that if the President of Pakistan cannot fulfil his right of constitutional office then the best option is to resign. The people are seeing that the constitutional office is being misused and Arif Alvi is acting as president of PTI, not of Pakistan, she went on to say.

Marriyum Aurangzeb said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would address the nation in one to two days. Regarding Bilawal, she said that he was going to meet former prime minister and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif in London and would take oath on his return.