ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan Sunday urged both the print and electronic media to collectively project the national narrative on the Kashmir issue for countering Indian propaganda.
Addressing the one-year performance ceremony of the PTI government here at the Prime Minister Secretariat, Dr Firdous said raising the voice for the oppressed people of Indian occupied Kashmir ((IoK) was the government’s priority and the same was expected from the newspapers and news channels.
“Indian media has launched a negative propaganda campaign against Pakistan while projecting the fascist Narendra Modi as a national hero,” she said. The Pakistani media must unitedly counter the fake Indian narrative and highlight the Kashmir cause, she added.
She said the PTI government believed in complete media freedom as it played an imperative role as eyes and ears of the society. The prime minister had always been vocal about the press freedom and his government was determined to facilitate the media at every step.
Talking about one-year performance of Ministry of Information, Dr Firdous said new modern and structural reforms had been introduced in all the institutions, including Pakistan Television (PTV), Associated Press of Pakistan (APP), Press Information Department (PID), Publicity Wings and Radio Pakistan.
She said the PTV had been transformed into an autonomous body in contrast to the past years when it was used as a parking station for few journalists’ personal agendas, who were also being paid with heavy packages. “The PTV has become a profitable organization after being faced with immense financial crises deficit,” she added.
Regarding APP, Dr Firdous said the government was determined to transform the news agency into a modern organization having collaboration with its international counterparts.
“We are also upgrading APP’s Video News Service (VNS) to make it compatible with international services for promoting a soft and moderate image of Pakistan,” she added.
Likewise, she said, Radio Pakistan and PID were also adopting modern techniques as per new structural agendas that had been devised by the ministry. “For PID, we are bringing a new advertisement policy and online system while central media list for advertisements is also being revised,” she added.
Dr Firdous said the government had introduced structural reforms in the External Publicity (EP) Wing to keep the Pakistani diaspora abroad updated about the country's affairs and to improve our press counselors’ performance abroad.
“The EP Wing will be aiming to create a platform that will enable foreign journalists to witness Pakistan’s positive side, our cultural heritage and developmental projects,” she added.
She thanked all the senior journalists and media owners for their support and appreciation for promoting unity and harmony on different issues especially in light of recent events happenings in the occupied Kashmir.
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