Wednesday, September 15, 2010

PFUJ asked the democratic set up to ensure its writ on media owners!

PFUJ asked the democratic set up to ensure its writ on media owners!

Islamabad, Sept 15: The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) has regretted that although after a long dictatorial rule democracy finally prevailed, the democratically elected government "could not succeed in steering out media persons from the clutches of the despotic rule of the media owners, and they are still deprived of all legitimate rights awarded by the people chosen parliament under the Newspaper Employees (Conditions of Service) Act, 1973.


In a statement issued here on Wednesday on the eve of the "International Day of Democracy" the PFUJ pointed out that as adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on November 8, 2007, this day provides an opportunity to review the state of democracy in the world. “Since Democracy is both a process and a goal, only with the full participation of and support by the international community, national governing bodies, civil society and individuals, the ideal of democracy can be made into reality, to be enjoyed by everyone, everywhere,”.

Continuing, the PFUJ said that “the will of the people is the basis of the authority of government”, which is also supposed to protect and get implement its decisions as envisaged under the Acts of the Parliament.


The PFUJ said no doubt that present democratic setup is the product of free will of the people of the Pakistan. Democracy is the mother of the organs of the state including Parliament, Judiciary, and Executive. All these organs of the state which are product of the democracy are under obligation to get implement the decision of the Parliament in letter and spirit and parliament itself is also required to take notice where the writ of the parliament is not being implemented.

"The ultimate goal of democracy is to preserve and promote the dignity and fundamental rights of the individual, to achieve social justice, foster the economic and social development of the community, strengthen the cohesion of society and build a propitious environment for international peace. Democracy, development and human rights are therefore interdependent", the PFUJ observed.

The PFUJ said although it is matter of satisfaction that at present we have democratic order prevailing in the country, yet the disturbing question is that in the whole ten years of the Mushriff dictatorial role not an iota of laws of the parliament in the shape of the Labour Laws and NECOSCA were implemented including the 7th Wage Board Award, which was supposed to be implemented with effect from Ist July 2000, but why in the democratic era too the media persons are not allowed to reap from fruits of "democracy".

The PFUJ reminded that all the provincial assemblies, national assembly, and senate passed resolutions a number of times calling upon the Media Houses to Implement the 7th Wage Board Award, but none of them cared, and the judiciary too has not fulfilled its obligation to protect and persevere the constitution, rather it provided a one sided restraint order for non-implementation of the wage board award.

The media persons are an instrument of a flourishing democracy and its institutions, including judiciary, executive, while media houses always got concessions from dictators. This tendency is now required to be checked and it is the prime duty of democracy and its all organs, PFUJ asserted.



Shamsul Islam Naz
Secretary General
PAKISTAN FEDERAL UNION OF JOURNALISTS
http://www.shamsulislamnaz.com
http://www.pfuj.pk

http://www.facebook.com/shamsul.naz
http://shamsulisalmnaz.blogspot.com/?spref=gb

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