Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb Wednesday underlined the need to make concerted efforts for further improving the good image of Pakistan.
She was chairing a high-level meeting in External Publicity Wing, Information Ministry. The minister said Pakistan was among this year’s top 10 global countries improving in the business environment. That leverage of economic turn-around should be capitalised and projected to send a message to the world that Pakistan was a destination of choice, she added.
She asked the officers of External Publicity Wing to keep a close liaison and engage with foreign media to remove their apprehensions and misperceptions about Pakistan, its land and people. She said the government was fully cognizant of the importance of the media in shaping public opinion; therefore, it was expected from the press officers aboard to articulate Pakistan’s prime position on various issues of international importance, keeping in view the supreme national interest.
The minister pointed out that a lot of good things had been done by the government, and the stories of those achievements needed to be told.
When the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) came to power in 2013, she said, Pakistan was facing multiple crises. But now after three years, it was far better, she said. Incidents of terrorism had registered 85 per cent decrease, which was indeed a great achievement. The economy had been revived, inflation lowered and foreign reserves touched a new high in the country’s history for the first time, she added. She said Pakistan had rendered great sacrifices in a global war against terrorism and those must be duly recognised by the international community.
She said China-Pakistan Economic Corridor was the landmark achievement of the present democratic government which would not only benefit Pakistan, but also the entire region. The minister said Pakistan had made substantial progress in sustainable development goals (SDGs) which would enable it to join the international community in achieving the objective.
She emphasised the need for training and capacity building of officers on professional lines, particularly with reference to utilising new tools of publicity to project and promote the positive image of Pakistan. Earlier, she visited Directorate of Electronic Media and Publications (DEMP) and reiterated her resolve and commitment for freedom of expression and independence of media. She said the electronic media in Pakistan had recorded a tremendous growth and was playing a vital role in informing, educating and entertaining the public.
She also urged the officers of DEMP to proactively interact with electronic media, as it had potential to positively guide the society towards the desired goal of harmony, unity and national cohesion. She was briefed by the respective director generals about the working of their departments.
Information and Broadcasting Secretary Saba Mohsin Raza was also present on the occasion.
