ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry rejected the impression that the proposal to amend the laws to take action on complaints of ridiculing of the military was introduced to curb online speech.
The National Assembly Standing Committee on Interior in April passed the bill proposing that anyone found guilty of such an offence be handed up to two years of imprisonment and a fine of up to Rs500,000, or both.
“Hate speech is a universally recognised fact that has to be curbed […] all the states and organisations are duty-bound not to allow hate speeches,” he told host Stephen Sackur during an interview for his programme Hardtalk which was broadcast on BBC World on late on Friday.
Fawad said he respected and admired tech giants — including Google and Facebook — for their work. “I want them to come to Pakistan […] open their offices, we want to do business with them, we acknowledge their contribution to the world,” he said.
To another question, he said, as information minister of the fifth most populous country in the world, he exercised complete authority to make decisions about the affairs coming under his domain.
Fawad said that Prime Minister Imran Khan remains the most popular leader in Pakistan as the people, who voted him to power, are his “ardent fans”.
Even in the next general elections, Imran would get the majority votes and be the prime minister for another tenure, he declared.
Responding to a question, the minister cautioned Sackur not to “undermine” the elected government of Prime Minister Imran which he said received millions of votes in the 2018 general elections.
“Imran Khan is the prime minister of a nuclear state […] he and the cabinet take collective decisions,” he asserted.
The government had due respect for the opinion of institutions but the decisions rested with the prime minister, he added.
Sharing the achievements of the government, Fawad said at present the country’s growth rate target was set at 3.94 percent, despite the Covid-19 pandemic.
About Rs1,100 billion, he said, had been shifted from the urban economy to the rural economy. “This year, Pakistan has got four bumper crops”, he said, adding a record number of tractors had been purchased by farmers.
He said Pakistan’s response to Covid-19 had been one of the best in the world. Quoting United Nations General Assembly President Volkan Bozkir, he said: “Pakistan has been a good example for the world with its pandemic related policies; Pakistan has done better than any other country.”
“These words speak volumes of our successful strategy to deal with the Covid-19 situation,” he added.
In response to another question, the minister said 5.5 million people had been vaccinated in the country to date. Pakistan was among the top 34 countries in terms of vaccinating its people. “The way we are doing, [we will] achieve the targets of vaccination soon,” he added.
He further reiterated that Pakistan was a great success story as far as dealing with the pandemic was concerned. “The partial [targeted restrictions] lockdown strategy worked well […] in Pakistan, the situation is far better than any other country in the region.”
He further said the media in Pakistan enjoyed absolute freedom. Freedom of expression was a fundamental and democratic right enshrined in the Constitution of Pakistan, he observed.
He said: “Pakistan is one of the freest states as far as media is concerned.”
“There are 43 international channels, including BBC, 112 private channels, 258 radio channels, and 1,569 print publications, and in the presence of such kind of mass media, how could the state be accused of intimidating the media,” he further questioned.
Responding to the claim of the government restricting a local channel, Aaj television, from airing BBC Urdu news service, Fawad said the British network was the most-watched international channel in Pakistan and the government had never obstructed its transmission.
The BBC Urdu, he added, would be allowed to telecast its programmes subject to following the relevant media laws.
When asked as to the reported thrashing of vlogger Asad Toor, Fawad said he immediately took cognisance of the matter. A senior police officer was investigating it and those responsible for the act would be apprehended, he told Sackur.
He said there was no justification in accusing any state institution (of attacking journalists) without concrete evidence. Such lone incidents happen everywhere in the world and Pakistan was no exception, he said.
To another question, he said Pakistan had been fighting the scourge of terrorism as a front line state. A number of people lost their lives in the war on terror.
“This is not something limited to journalists, former prime minister Benazir Bhutto was also martyred in a terrorist attack,” he said, adding: “About 70,000 people had been killed in the war against terrorism.”
However, the incidents of attacking journalists, he said, had reduced after the incumbent government assumed office.
