The Senate Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting on Thursday reviewed concerns over notices issued by the NCCIA to a newspaper columnist over an article published on June 11, 2024.

An NCCIA official told the committee that the complaint against columnist Toufiq Butt had been filed by Pakistan Administrative Services Association (PAS) Punjab President Aman Babar, who objected to the use of the term “Bureau-Corrupts” for bureaucrats, arguing that it had damaged the reputation of PAS officers.

The official said no FIR had been registered and no criminal proceedings had been initiated, adding that the agency was merely conducting an inquiry to record the columnist’s version after receiving the complaint. He said notices were issued on June 19 and June 29 after the columnist failed to appear before the agency.

He maintained that the NCCIA was required to entertain complaints filed by aggrieved parties and seek the respondent’s version before reaching any conclusion. This prompted a debate among journalists attending the meeting, several of whom questioned whether the agency had jurisdiction over newspaper content.

The journalists argued that print publications fell under the jurisdiction of the Press Council of Pakistan, while electronic media was regulated by Pemra. Some participants warned that entertaining such complaints could create a “backdoor” to pressure journalists and have a chilling effect on press freedom.

Others argued that once the same content became independently available on social media, it fell within the scope of cyber laws, while some maintained that reposting a newspaper column online should not change its regulatory status.