Minister for Information and Broadcasting Arif Nizami on Monday said the caretaker government would leave no stone unturned in resolving the issues being faced by the media industry.
Addressing the attendees of a reception held here in his honour hosted by the All Pakistan Akhbar Farosh Federation (APAFF), the information minister said the media industry was facing a crisis situation due to the circular debt.
However, he urged All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) President Sarmad Ali to play his role for the implementation of the seventh wage board award and make payment of the arrears to working journalists.
He also asked Ali to make nominations on behalf of the APNS for the finalisation of the eighth wage award so that it could be formed.
Referring to the caretaker government’s resolve to hold on-time elections, Nizami said the upcoming polls were very important as for the first time a democratic government had completed its stipulated five-year term.
“Though I had been offered the portfolio of the Ministry of Information in the past, I decided to accept this offer this time as I felt that for the first time a neutral setup was going to take the responsibility of free, fair and transparent elections,” Nizami said, adding that the caretaker governments of the past were not neutral.
He said prior to taking oath of the Ministry of Information, he had resigned from his office of editor of Pakistan Today so that there would be no doubt about his neutrality.
“This government has not indulged itself in any sort of victimisation and it also provided a level-playing field to all political parties. We will complete our job and will go home,” said the minister, adding that the holding of elections amidst terrorist attacks was a gigantic task which was taken up bravely by the caretakers.
“Despite (bomb) blasts, we have strong resolve to hold polls on time,” he said, adding that he was happy that the caretakers had proved themselves to be neutral.
Referring to the services of late Hameed Nizami, his father and founding editor of daily Nawa-i-Waqt, Nizami said late Hameed Nizami had launched the Muslim Students Federation (MSF), and that the legendary journalist had launched Nawa-i-Waqt with limited resources.
“Despite the fact that my position is different today, let us acknowledge that even today, Nawa-i-Waqt is doing ideological journalism,” he said.
Earlier, the APNS president showered praises for Nizami, saying that the ministerial slot for him was a privilege shared by the entire media industry. He said the media industry was facing numerous challenges as the federal and provincial governments owed around Rs 2.75 billion to the media houses which had brought the media industry to the brink of a bankruptcy.
“The federal and provincial governments have not paid money to the media owners. The APNS is committed to implementing the seventh wage award,” he added.
Tikka Khan, the secretary of the APAFF, who was moderating the proceedings, said Nizami belonged to a family respected for its contributions to the media industry. He said the office of minister for information was not a privilege for Nizami rather it was an honour for the office of Ministry of Information to have a minister like the stature of Nizami.