Pakistan to lift media restrictions
Updated
Pakistan's new government has moved to lift harsh restrictions on the media that were imposed by President Pervez Musharraf under a state of emergency in November.
Information minister Sherry Rehman introduced a parliamentary bill proposing an end to curbs on live broadcasts and punishments for journalists ranging from heavy fines to imprisonment.
Mrs Rehman, formerly the spokeswoman for slain opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, is part of the new government that took office last month after trouncing president Musharraf's allies in elections.
The minister, herself a former journalist, says that president Musharraf's regime had imposed "silence" on the media instead of improving its own performance.
