ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan has said the government will announce new advertisement policy in next few weeks, which will ensure protection of rights of media workers and their job and social security.
While speaking at a ceremony in Islamabad on Friday in connection with the release of advertisement funds to the media houses, Firdous Ashiq Awan said that new advertisement policy will be announced after consultation with all the stakeholders.
Firdous Ashiq Awan said that the federal government is releasing today an outstanding amount of Rs 190 million to the media houses and it will gradually clear the entire pending amount.
۔معاون خصوصی اطلاعات و نشریات ڈاکٹر فردوس عاشق اعوان کا تقریب سے خطاب
میڈیا ورکرز کے حقوق کا تحفظ ہماری ترجیحات میں شامل ہے ۔۔عید سے قبل تنخواہوں کی ادائیگی یقینی بنا رہے ہیں۔۔حکومت میڈیا مالکان کی واجب الادا رقوم جاری کرنے کی ذمہ دار ہے۔۔@Dr_FirdousPTI pic.twitter.com/XjeQ0L4Pxx— PTV News (@PTVNewsOfficial) May 31, 2019
The special assistant pointed out that the Punjab government has already released funds to the media houses while the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government will also release the funds very soon.
Dr Firdous urged the media owners to release salaries to the media workers before Eid-ul-Fitr. She said that an independent and sovereign media is important to strengthen the foundations of Naya Pakistan.
Meanwhile in a statement, the President of the Parliamentary Reporters Association (PRA) Behzad Saleemi said that it was their joint endeavours which helped in the disbursement of Rs 190 million to the media houses by Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan to ensure that journalists get paid before Eid-ul-Fitr.
The president PRA said that the leadership of journalists’ organizations must forge unity in their ranks and make joint efforts to protect the rights of media workers.
