Minister for Information and Broadcasting Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said on Saturday that some elements were busy in tarnishing Pakistan's image abroad. Such elements were not pleased with the status that Pakistan had acquired in international scenario due to bold policies of President Musharraf and his team, the Minister told a private television channel.
He said the entire government machinery including President General Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz took serious notice of the inhuman incidents like that of Dr Shazia and Mukhtaran Mai, but some people were busy in exploiting the situation to defame Pakistan.
If compared with developed countries like the United States and United Kingdom, the ratio of such incidents was marginal in Pakistan, the Minister said, adding but the media in those countries never gave such a boost to the happenings.
Unfortunately an isolated incident in Pakistan was propagated widely by the local media that country seemed to be a hub of activities, he lamented.
That practice encouraged the western media to project negative feeling about Pakistan and its society, he said.
To a question, he said the government had no desire to ban the Non Governmental Organisations in the country, adding: "we went to give them free hand to function but in line with the aspirations of people of Pakistan."