Information and broadcasting adviser Md Mahfuj Alam on Sunday said that the freedom of press was not possible without political consensus.
At an event marking World Press Freedom Day 2025, he explained that it聽 was possible for the incumbent interim government to enact some good laws but continuation of the implementation of the laws would depend on the future government.
鈥榃ithout political consensus, freedom of the press is not possible,鈥� the information adviser said.
He also stressed that as press freedom was necessary so was necessary the media to remain accountable.
The adviser鈥檚 remarks came as he was attending as chief guest an event titled 鈥楤rave new Bangladesh: reform roadmap for press freedom鈥�. It was held by three organisations鈥攖he Transparency International Bangladesh, UNESCO Dhaka office and the embassy of Sweden in Bangladesh at the Midas Centre鈥攊n the capital.
World Press Freedom Day was observed on Saturday.
While presenting the keynote paper, Media Reform Commission chief Kamal Ahmed said that for the freedom of press an environment free from fear, economic weakness and political intervention was imperative.
For immediate implementation, he gave some recommendations, including implementing a 鈥榦ne family, one media鈥� policy banning several media outlets under the same ownership, enacting journalism protection law, forming a media commission, passing national broadcasting policy, merging the state-owned Bangladesh Television, Bangladesh Betar and Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha into a national broadcasting agency, revaluating the existing media list and licences, adjusting advertisement rates with inflation, re-fixing wages and payments of journalists and investigating media owner companies to check if laws were violated.聽聽聽
The adviser mentioned that his ministry and the chief adviser鈥檚 press wing were looking into the matter of false cases filed against journalists to harass them.聽聽聽
鈥楴o freedom in the world is unconditional,鈥� he said, adding that if the journalists remained accountable and maintained professionalism people would certainly be with them.
The interim government wanted to enact the journalism protection act, give autonomy to television and radio channels, merge three state run news agencies and re-fix advertisement rates after doing adjustments with inflation.
Very soon, the adviser added that, they would find the situation of the media in the past 15 years.
While moderating the programme, TIB executive director Iftekharuzzaman and chief of Anti-Corruption Commission Reform Commission said that the security agencies in Bangladesh needed radical reforms.
鈥業t is not the responsibility of any security agency to control what a newspaper can publish and what it cannot,鈥� he added.
AK Azad, chairperson and managing director of Times Media Group, said that different secret agencies dictated the media which news to publish, which not to.
鈥榃e went up by 16 steps in the World Press Freedom Index 2025 because of the interim government,鈥� he said, urging the government to implement the reform proposals as soon as possible through ordinance.
At the event, Swedish ambassador in Dhaka Nicolas Weeks, head of office and UNESCO representative to Bangladesh Susan Vize, Agence France Presse bureau chief Dhaka Sheikh Sabiha Alam, and Broadcast Journalist Centre chairman and Maasranga Television head of news Rejoanul Haq Raza were also present, among others.
