Islamabad: October 28, 2011. (PCP) Pakistan Federal Union of Journalist (Dastoor) has expressed its serious concern over the formation of the Press Council saying that the procedure adopted in this connection is illogical and devoid of the spirit behind the constitution of the body. In a statement issued here on Friday, the PFUJ President Idrees Bakhtiar and Secretary General Mian Rifat Qadri said that the journalists nominated in the council are neither the elected representatives of the journalist community nor have they been nominated by any of the two groups of the PFUJ. “We do not know what procedure or merit has been devised for the nomination of journalists in the Press Council”, they said Moreover, they said, the PFUJ (D), which represents over 3000 active journalists in all over the country with a strong representation in Karachi, Hyderabad, Multan, Bahawalpur, Muzzaferabad, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Sarghoda, Jehlum, and other press clubs, has not been taken into confidence on the issue. “Nomination of unelected persons on the basis of personal likes and dislikes will not serve the actual purpose of such an important body. An equal representation of the journalist organizations can only contribute positively vis-à-vis council’s objectives”, the PFUJ leaders said. They demanded of the council’s chairman Justice rtd Shafqat Abbasi to postpone the inaugural meeting of the council scheduled to be held on November 1,2011, as it will yield no positive results but will further widen the gulf between journalists and the government. They suggested that a meeting of the elected representatives of the major journalist organizations be called by the chairman in order to ensure their equal representation in the council. Otherwise, they observed, the council will be a mere addition to a long list of ceremonial bodies.