President Asif Ali Zardari said on Friday that photographers are the frontline and advance column of journalistic community and face greatest hazards in the performance of their professional duties. Talking to a delegation of All Pakistan Photojournalists Association (APPA) headed by its President Sajjad Haider here at Aiwan-e-Sadr, he said that government would provide all possible assistance to enhance professional capabilities of photojournalists.
He said that government is aware of the problems being faced by photojournalists and advised the ministry of information and broadcasting to take all possible steps for resolving their problems. The president appreciated the courage and valour of photojournalists in conflict areas in the pursuit of professional duties and praised the APPA for the work it has been doing for the promotion of photojournalism in the country.
Earlier, the delegation apprised the president about the problems in discharging their professional duties. They thanked the president for his keenness to resolve the issues being faced by photojournalists.
The APPA delegation included Iqbal Chaudry, Ayaz Sheikh, Tanveer Shahzad, Abdul Hameed, Raja Zaffar, Ali Wahid, Farman Khan, Aftab Rizvi, Bashir Butt, Mohammad Tahir, Mohammad Sadiq, Muzammal Shah, Musa Farman and Saleem Rana. Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Ms Farahnaz Ispaani MNA, Presidential Spokesperson Farhatullah Babar, Secretary Information Taimur Azmat Usman, and PIO Mohammad Saleem were also present during the meeting.