ISLAMABAD: Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting, while speaking at the National Media Conference here has said that Imran Khan reckoned Media as a Super Power.
She urged that Media should act responsibly upholding the national security and state interests while criticizing the government’s performance. Title of the Conference held at National University of Modern Languages (NUML)was Media as Soft Power in the 21st Century: “We have to define the interests of the state and the government,” she maintained.
She reiterated the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan considered the media as the fourth pillar of state. She said that Media should not undermine the national cause while exercising its right to criticize the government and bring forth its shortcomings.
Advisor suggested that Media should analyze and evaluate the performance of government, and guide it whenever there was any constitutional violation, misuse of authority and abuse of power.
A relevant piece published earlier:
Media is free in Pakistan: Imran Khan speaks at Institute of Peace!
WASHINGTON: PM Imran Khan has said that due to lack of funds PTI was the biggest beneficiary of free Media that allowed it to disseminate its manifesto.
Speaking at the US Institute of Peace here today PM Imran Khan claimed that when the Media houses in Pakistan were asked about their source of funding they accuse the government of suppression. Responding to a question he said that Kashmiris and not Pakistanis would figure out the solution to the Kashmir problem. He stated that Pulwama attack was carried out by a youth of the region who was turned into a radical/militant due to atrocities committed by the Indian security forces.
Holding since Pakistan needed peace and stability, PTI government wanted to have friendly ties with all its neighbors including India. He lamented whenever the Indo-Pak terms showed signs of normalcy some act of terrorism was carried out to derail that. He said that Pakistan had reached out to all the bordering countries to commence a new era by means of ameliorating business ties.PM said that he had offered Indian leadership too to commence trade in order to contain the prevailing poverty in the Indo-Pak Sub-Continent.
Claiming that he enjoyed Taliban’s trust for advocating that Afghan issue could only be solved by dialogue, Imran Khan said that he had also reached out to Afghanistan. PM said that he would press Afghans to come to negotiating table with Afghan govt. representatives. He said that Pakistan and US were on the same page as far as the solution of Afghan conflict was concerned. Commenting on the Pak-US ties he reiterated that Pakistan while fighting the war against terrorism lost 70,000 lives and $100 billion. He reminded that Pakistanis believed they were fighting US. Yet, he lamented, Pakistanis were accused of not being sincere.
He maintained like corruption of ruling elite was forcing people towards the abyss of poverty, Pakistan too was facing the same problem. He said that the money accumulated by means of corruption had been siphoned out of country via money laundering as a result masses were deprived of basic facilities. PM noted that corrupt rulers endeavor to destroy institutions in order to go Scot free. Nevertheless, he said that stolen money would be recovered in due time.
Claiming that the Army stood with him, Imran Khan told that in Pakistan he was fighting Mafia and not political parties: “He said he was not fighting political parties, but a Mafia in Pakistan. Pointing out that the two ruling families (Sharifs and Bhuttos/Zardaris) had been in power for last three decades he reminded:“The Supreme Court called the ruling party a Sicilian Mafia.”
News Pakistan
