Pakistan: CFWIJ refutes the Information Minister’s labeling of journalists and media houses as “agenda-driven”

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September 7, 2021- Federal Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry casually labeled prominent journalists and media houses in Pakistan as being “agenda-driven”. On September 1, he appeared on the News Eye program on Dawn News, where he was questioned on how the government has not completed its investigation of any of the three attacks that occurred in the capital. While dodging the question of program host Absa Komal, he accused Dawn media group of being part of an international conspiracy, "Laissez-Faire". The organization’s purpose is purportedly to draw attention to international regulations on Pakistan. He emphasized that such propaganda in the name of freedom of expression is used to influence the country's GSP plus status and FATF regulations.

Following the program, host Absa Komal was targeted by online trolls for airing all of the Minister’s answers, despite differences of opinion. Supporters of the  PTI government mocked the journalist over social media with photoshopped clips of the particular segment. 

On September 3, Federal Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry insinuated the same accusations as he was speaking to Geo Pakistan hosts Huma Amir Shah and Abdullah Sultan. He implied certain media groups are agenda-driven, which hurts the national interest of the country. He further implied that it is surprising how some people consider fake news their right. His comments were followed again by excessive trolling of the program hosts.

On August 30, the federal minister also accused Saleem Safi, another prominent journalist and show host, of following the lines of his bosses. 

The discussion was related to PMDA (Pakistan Media Regulatory Authority), the authoritarian legislation the present government is trying to implement. All media bodies in the country have unanimously opposed this kind of autocratic authority to regulate the media. The information minister has kept the draft from the public domain and mocked the journalists' who raised questions about it. The journalist community sees this ordinance as another attempt to suppress the freedom of expression in the country. 

While speaking to The CFWIJ, Absa Komal, a program host for News Eye, shared, "PMDA aside, I believe some elements in this government are on a mission to divide & malign independent journalists’ credibility with their handling of the issue and accusations of being part of international conspiracy are not new for journalists in Pakistan."

The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns the minister's remarks and urges him to reconsider his approach to addressing the media. It is an observed pattern in the country to label any news that challenges the government's narrative as fake news or propaganda. The present government has taken little accountability for the elements that threaten the media and journalists alike. The CFWIJ stands in solidarity with the journalist community, particularly women journalists, against any such rhetoric.