Islamabad: The Senate Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting, led by Senator Sarmad Ali, has approved The Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2025, despite opposition from the Ministry of Finance. The bill proposes changes to the board’s composition to include parliamentary representation, which the ministry argues contradicts existing legal frameworks.

According to Senate of Pakistan, the bill was introduced by Senator Muhammad Abdul Qadir and seeks to include members from both the Senate and the National Assembly on the Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation Board. The Ministry of Finance opposed the bill, citing the SOEs Act, 2023, which prohibits political office holders from serving as independent directors. Despite this, all committee members except Senator Pervaiz Rashid voted in favor of the bill. Senator Sarmad Ali suggested that the SOEs Act may need amendment to accommodate the proposed changes.

In other matters, the committee reviewed The Right of Access to Information (Amendment) Bill, 2021, and recommended against its passage. Discussions also addressed media industry challenges, with Senator Ali emphasizing the need for financial support to combat fake news. He also raised concerns about the National Press Trust’s relevance following the privatization of its newspapers and called for an assessment of its assets and a potential amendment of its trust deed.

The committee debated state advertising allocation, with a call for stricter accountability and a halt on ads for media organizations not registered with the EOBI. An in-depth briefing from EOBI is planned. Meanwhile, health insurance for journalists has been reinstated, with life insurance options under consideration.

Additionally, the committee intends to visit Karachi to inspect properties of the National Press Trust, PTV, and Radio Pakistan for effective utilization. They also instructed that the film “Buleha” should not be exhibited until its title and contentious dialogues are revised.