LAUNCH OF PTV PARLIAMENT
HISTORIC MOMENT IN PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATIONS IN PAKISTAN WITH LAUNCH OF PTV PARLIAMENT
Zafarullah Khan
is the Executive Director of the Pakistan Institute for Parliamentary Services since May 2016. He is also a member of the Editorial Advisory Board for The Parliamentarian.
On 30 May 2018, the Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan, Hon. Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, MNA along with Federal Minister of Information, Marriyum Aurangzeb; the Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Information, Senator Faisal Javed; and the Secretary of Information, Ahmed Nawaz Sukhaira inaugurated PTV Parliament in Pakistan by pressing the transmission button. The moment transformed the culture of parliamentary communication in Pakistan. Speaking on the occasion, the Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan said that the doors of Parliament had been opened to everybody over the last five years in order to create awareness amongst the people about the functions of the Parliament. He said that students from schools, colleges and universities were also invited to witness the proceedings of the Parliament. He said the idea behind the launch of the PTV Parliament channel was to create awareness amongst the people of the workings of the Parliament of Pakistan and to generate public opinion that will help improve the performance of the elected representatives. He said through this channel, the people will be able to see whether or not
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their elected representatives are highlighting their issues. The Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Marriyum Aurangzeb in her remarks said that the new channel will not only broadcast ‘live’ the proceedings of the Parliament of Pakistan but also those of the Standing Committees. She said the content to be generated under the guidance of the Pakistan Institute for Parliamentary Services (PIPS) will also be broadcast on PTV Parliament. The preamble of the Constitution of Pakistan acknowledges citizens’ right to be governed democratically by stating “…the state shall exercise its powers and authority through the chosen representatives of the people.” The command of the Constitution calls for citizens’ informed participation in the nation’s democratic political processes and affairs through their vote and voice. For voters to do this effectively, they need to know what their elected representatives are doing in the representative democratic institutions. It is hoped that the PTV Parliament will serve this nation in building its purpose intelligently as access to accurate information is vital for the health of democracy. In Pakistan, the role of the
Parliament is least understood by a majority of the population because the sporadic, selective and episodic coverage and reportage accorded to it often fails to capture the role, work and performance of this important institution. Presently there is a paucity of detailed, in-depth and accurately contextualized coverage of the Parliament. Mere sound bites, tickers, talk shows, occasional news packages and Tweets invariably remain inadequate to present a comprehensive picture about the Parliament and its work. Global trends and traditions of parliamentary broadcasting and communications are going through rapid transformation in the digital age. Historically, Parliaments opened up their proceedings for the print media and the institution of the Press Gallery became an integral part of parliamentary heritage. The print media has a limited outreach in many societies due to literacy barriers. In 1936, New Zealand started its first radio broadcast of parliamentary proceedings to expand public outreach. The dedicated television cameras were allowed in the parliamentary chambers in the 20th century. Today, many Parliaments in the world allow cameras in their