Punjab Agri Marketing Minister, Rana Muhammad Qasim Noon has said that present government was fully aware of the importance of media and freedom being enjoyed by media in the present regime had no precedent in the past.
While addressing a workshop on 'Media and Present Challenges' held here at the Regional Campus of Allama Iqbal Open University on Tuesday, Qasim said that media had been deemed fourth pillar of the state but it has gained greater importance than that in the face of the challenges faced by the world.
Director Faculty of Communication Studies, University of the Punjab, Dr Mughees ud Din Sheikh, Regional Director AIOU, Brigadier Muhammad Zubair (Retd), Head of Current Affairs of PTV Lahore Centre, Zia ur Rahman Amjad and Course Co-ordinator, Hafiz Zahid Yousaf were also present on the occasion.
The minister said the present world is passing through turmoil and the era of the Cold War is over but the war being fought at the media front is more powerful than nuclear weapons. The development of the electronic media is due to revolutionary steps taken by the government for its promotion, he added.
He said that government was fully aware of the problems being faced by the journalists and all out efforts were being made for their welfare. He said that residential colony for the mediamen, funds for the press clubs throughout the province and financial help to journalists were among the some of the steps taken in this regard.