ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Saturday directed the law and information secretaries to submit their replies in a plea seeking the court’s intervention on the problems being faced by journalists and media workers.

Chief Justice Islamabad High Court Justice Athar Minallah has released the two-page court order.

In its written order the court also directed the registrar of Implementation Tribunal for Newspaper Employees (ITNE) to submit reports of all cases being investigated of media persons.

The court directed the information and law secretaries to submit their replies within two weeks on the measures adopted by the government to protect journalists and media workers.

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The court also appointed the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association and president of the Islamabad High Court Journalists’ Association as amici curiae.

In its order, the IHC has observed that there is no effective law that provides security to journalists and media workers.

The court order states that there are 40,000 cases against journalists at ITNE. Providing security to journalists and media workers comes under basic human rights. In the public interest, the petitioner has raised questions on articles 19-A, 14, 19 and 9 of the constitution.

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The court order states that article 19-A gives journalists the right to access public information in the public interest. It further said that the freedom of editors, reporters and columnists was very important.

The Islamabad High Court ordered to fix the hearing after three weeks.