ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain said today that it was the obligation of the Information Group officers and state media to promote and project a positive image of the state by highlighting its narrative.
Addressing the passing out ceremony of newly graduated info group officers of 35th Specialized  Training Programme (STP) held here, he said that importance of information service had increased  with the changing times as the days of conventional warfare had gone and now in the modern era,  the wars of narratives, based on reason and logic, would be executed.
He said that unfortunately in the past the governments failed to develop a national narrative to project the positive image of Pakistan at international level and many publications in western countries projected the country negatively.
He announced that the government has decided to merge Information Service Academy, Pakistan Broadcasting Academy, and PTV Academy to create a modern state of the art Pakistan Media University.
The minister said that “in the decade of 1960s, Pakistan used to produce radio transmitters but with the passage of time our dependence on imports increased as we lagged behind in technological advancements.”
He said that the government desired that the new generation should learn new media technologies, and excel in performing arts, creative writing and film, and drama production.
He assured that the government would fully support the new generation in their pursuit of knowledge. He said for the promotion of the local entertainment industry, the government was working to impose a tax on the import of foreign teleplays and advertisements.
For countering fifth generation hybrid war, it was imperative to increase the capacity of the state media organs and digitalization of APP was being part of the same policy.
He said that with an increase in Internet speed, masses have started depending on digital media and the information officers will have to keep them abreast with the latest trends.
Greeting the newly inducted officers, he said that the present government has taken steps to give due rights to the officers of Information Group. He said with the passage of time, the importance this group of superior services was increasing.
In the past military might and weaponry were key to winning wars but now times of ideas and narratives have come and hybrid wars are fought in which media was the key component.
He said that “during the past ten years we could not take steps to keep pace with the changing times.”He said that print media was facing a financial crunch as they did not adapt themselves to changing times. He said that the Information Ministry’s job was to project a positive image of the state and not a tool for projection of the ruling elite.
He said that the PTI government would never utilize the taxpayers’ money on the projection of the party and only essential advertisements would be released. He said that the PTI does not believe in curbs on media and it did away with all censorship on state media after coming to power.
He said that those keeping an eye on future developments, never fail and time has come to pay attention to new technologies and skill development.
The minister urged the newly inducted officers to dedicate all their energies to promoting and projecting the narrative of the state across the world through their public relation skills by utilizing all mediums.
He also asked them to focus on harnessing their abilities and expertise in line with the emerging realities in the domain of communication to be able to use the modern tools of publicity, particularly digital media. He said that the growth of media was linked with economic growth of the country as economic activities create advertisements for the media.
Earlier, Secretary Information and Broadcasting Shafqat Jalil in his address said that  Chaudhry Fawad has supported the Information Group after assuming charge of the ministry.
He said that due to the personal interest of the minister, the work on Pakistan Media University project was going smoothly. He said that process of foreign postings of information group officers had restarted which was a good omen.
He urged the probationary officers to utilize all their energies to meet the challenges of modern times. He said that the officers passed out were the future of the Information Group.
Deputy Director General ISA Suriya Jamal said that various specialized courses were conducted in the academy for training and capacity building of the officers. The ceremony was attended by senior officers of the Ministry, Press Information Department and retired officers of the ministry.
The minister distributed certificates among the seven participants of the course including  Shahid Habib, Muhammad Umar Faran, Rida Fatima, Lala Rukh, Isha Imtiaz, Sarah Malik and Mariyum Khan.