Caretaker Federal Minister for Information Murtaza Solangi has said that newspapers are still the most authentic and reliable source of news. “The editor’s department is very important in newspapers. No other medium of media, especially the electronic one, has as many filters as there are in newspapers,” the interim information minister said while addressing ‘Meet the Editors’ programme organised by the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) on Sunday. Solangi was of the view that the main reason for the poor condition of the media was that many newspapers had eliminated the editorial department. To a question, Solangi said, “We respect criticism. If something wrong has been done, criticise it, but do not punish us for an uncommitted sin.” The caretaker information minister said that there was no restriction on the publication of news of all the registered political parties in the country, except for the ones of leaders whose legal cases were being heard in the courts. Solangi assured the CPNE that obstacles faced by the regional newspapers and journals in receiving advertisements would be removed. CPNE Secretary General Ejazul Haq told the caretaker information minister that a major recovery in terms of advertisements was still delayed. “There is a need to develop a strategy to solve the serious problems faced by the print media.” Senior Vice President Anwar Sajdi said that there was a need to pay immediate attention to the crisis of newspapers and magazines due to economic problems. Vice President Sindh Amir Mahmood said that the information minister, being a journalist himself, knew the importance of newspapers and the editors’ institution. “If newspapers exist, there will be editors. We are sure they will try their best to solve the problems of the newspapers.” He presented the problems faced by the journalists in detail. At the end, Solangi was presented with a reward and a shield by Sajdi, Haq, Mahmood and other members. On this occasion, Principal Information Officer Muhammad Asim, PID Karachi DG Iram Tanveer, CPNE Finance Secretary Ghulam Nabi Chandio, Deputy Secretary General Hamid Hussain Abidi, Joint Secretary Maqsood Yousufi and other members Dr Jabar Khattak, Saeed Khawar, Qazi Asad Abid, Faqir Manthar Mungrio, Ahmed Iqbal Baloch, Hassan Abbas, Qazi Sajjad Akbar, Javed Mehr Shamsi, Bashir Memon, Ayaz Memon, Nusrat Mirza, Sher Muhammad Khawar, Mahmood Alam Khalid, Salman Qureshi, Hamida Ghangharu, Manza Saham, Naseem Akhtar Sheikh, Ali Bin Younis, Shahid Satti, Mudassar Alam, Syed Mudassar Bukhari, Ali Hamza Afghan, Asad Siddiqui, Atif Sadiq Sheikh, Haroon Rasheed, Imran Korai, Kashif Hussain Memon, Muhammad Siraj, Zain, Tariq Aziz, Asim, Nasir Khattak, Rehman Malik, Muhammad Ali, were present. Meanwhile, Murtaza Solangi said that all political parties should have full freedom to contest elections. In his speech at Radio Pakistan Karachi, he said it was clear in the Constitution that the system of the country will be run by elected representatives. “State media should not support or oppose any political party,” Murtaza Solangi said. The minister issued directives to the official media to give fair coverage to the registered political parties. It was the responsibility of the caretaker government to provide a conducive environment for transparent elections, Murtaza Solangi maintained. He said that the government was working for the betterment of Radio Pakistan and that its broadcast should be digital. Murtaza Solangi said he would try to solve radio problems under legal and constitutional powers.