ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan Wednesday said the show of the PPP in Islamabad was non-serious.In a statement in reaction to a tweet of Maryam Nawaz, she said such utterances from the patrons of Gullu Butts was a cruel joke. She said Maryam Nawaz forgot the oppression and firing at elderly persons, women and unarmed workers in the Model Town incident. She said Maryam should have issued such tweets and statements on the Model Town incident.Meanwhile, making her maiden appearance in a meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting, Firdous Ashiq Awan highlighted importance of media in national development, and said independent and vibrant media was vital for a strong Pakistan.The committee meeting, chaired by Mian Javed Latif, welcomed Firdous Ashiq Awan and expressed confidence that under her leadership, both opposition and the government would get equal media coverage without any biased approach.Dr Firdous said the government was ready to work with opposition parties to improve working of national broadcasting institutions, if there was any deficiency or gap. “If the opposition or committee feels that there is any gap, it can be bridged with effective participation of parliamentarians. Define a policy and give a roadmap, my team will follow it,” she said.The SAPM said she believed in independence of media, adding no government could move forward by ignoring important role of media in highlighting and addressing public issues. Responding to some queries of the committee members, Dr Firdous said there was a crisis in media industry and journalist community was passing through difficult times. She said 85 percent of total advertisements to media houses were contributed by private sector and the government’s share was just about 10 to 15 percent. The SAPM said the incumbent government inherited pendency of payments to media houses on account of official advertisements from the previous government. She said figures of both the government and media houses about advertisements and payments were not matching, for which a mechanism was being evolved in consultation with all stakeholders to rationalise and clear the pendency.The committee was briefed about working and performance of Information and Broadcasting Division, besides its attached departments.Later talking to media, SAPM Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan appreciated journalist community for their struggle to get due rights. She said the government was in contact with owners of media houses to settle salary issue of journalists and media workers. The SAPM said the government was making all out efforts to release pending payments to media houses at the earliest by ensuring payment of salaries to media workers.
05-31-2019, 12:25 AM
PPP?s show was non-serious: Firdous
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