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MIRPUR, Dec 20 (APP):Azad Jammu Kashmir Prime Minister Faisal Mumtaz Rathore has said a free and responsible media stands as the cornerstone of a healthy democratic society.
He was addressing the oath-taking ceremony of the All Kashmir Newspaper Society, a forum of the regional press of the AJK State, held at the Jammu Kashmir House in the federal metropolis on Saturday.
Prime Minister Azad Kashmir Faisal Mumtaz Rathore earlier administered the oath to the newly elected office bearers of the All Kashmir Newspaper Society (AKNS). The ceremony was attended, among others, by government ministers, advisors, senior government officials, and journalists, including Chaudhry Rafique Nayyar, Ahmed Sagheer, Taqdees Gilani, Information Secretary Sardar Adnan Khurshid, Information Director Raja Amjad Hussain Minhas, DGPR, and other dignitaries.
Those who took the oath included AKNS President Sardar Zahid Tabassum, Senior Vice President Ramzan Chughtai, Vice Presidents Abid Abbasi and Nisar Kayani, Secretary General Zulfiqar Butt, Deputy Secretary Khalid Anjum Chaudhry, Secretary of Finance Ijaz Ahmed Khan, Secretary of Information Dilawar Bukhari, and members of the working body.
The Prime Minister noted that the government was taking practical steps for the welfare of journalists and the promotion of the media. He praised the media and journalists for highlighting the facts in adverse circumstances and presenting the Kashmir issue effectively at the international level.
The Prime Minister assured the AKNS office bearers that their demands would be resolved within three days through mutual consultation, saying that the Information Department has been directed to issue a half-page advertisement on the government’s performance. Stressing the significance of digital media, the PM emphasized adopting modern technology in view of the growing role of digital media. Congratulating the newly elected office bearers of the AKNS, he urged them to promote journalistic values, responsible reporting, and objectivity.
PM Rathore said that the present government considers the media as its partners. Referring to the politically volatile situation under which the PPP took the reins of government, he said that when he was entrusted with this responsibility, the state was facing political uncertainty and a climate of distrust. The government, he said, restored public confidence, revitalized the bureaucracy, opened the Prime Minister’s Secretariat to the public, and initiated a process to reconnect with the people and address their grievances.
He added that due to long-standing issues spanning seventy years, the people had fallen into a state of despair; however, political activity and the democratic process have now been revived in the state. Referring to initiatives undertaken by his government, he said that ad-hoc employees were regularized, drivers’ pay scales were increased, and practical steps were taken to redress public grievances.
Speaking on this occasion, the newly elected President of AKNS, Sardar Zahid Tabassum, thanked the Prime Minister and expressed his commitment to continue cooperation in resolving the problems of the journalist community.