Daily Times

Caretaker Federal Minister for Information, Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs Murtaza Solangi on Thursday said that the democratic system was meant to serve the people, who should have the power to hold their elected representatives accountable.

“Steps should be taken to reinvigorate the democratic system, which is only to take care of the people and not vice versa,” he maintained.

The minister was speaking as the chief guest at a seminar on “Electoral Code of Conduct: Ethical Practices of Stakeholders including Media”, organized by the Press Information Department. He said that as per the Constitution, Pakistan was a federal parliamentary democratic country and the people’s elected representatives must do legislation to strengthen the system. The minister said that the concept of “recalling elections” was first introduced in Greece and the practice was now being followed by other countries, including Canada, the United States of America and Germany.

A certain percentage of constituents should be empowered to recall their elected representatives by complaining to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) if they failed to meet their expectations, he added.

Solangi said that the caretaker government was taking all possible steps to facilitate the ECP to hold free, fair and transparent elections on February 8 so that the people could elect candidates and parties of their choice in a peaceful environment. He said that the Election Commission had issued a code of conduct, and the media houses management and media persons should be fully mindful of it. He said that some elements were involved in baseless propaganda and spreading rumours regarding the February elections. It was being claimed that the elections would be postponed due to severe cold or security grounds, but that propaganda had now died down, he added.

The minister said that the caretaker government had persistently highlighted its stance, and as its spokesperson he had time and again clarified that elections would be held as per schedule on February 8.

He said under the Constitution, the country would be run as a federal parliamentary democratic system.

He said through an amendment, the system of caretaker governments was introduced in the country to ensure neutrality at the time of elections.

Talking about the media, Solangi said that there were far less complaints against the mainstream media as compared to the digital media. On the digital frontier, he added, artificial intelligence, voice cloning, deep fake propaganda and robocalls could be utilised to spread fake news and lies.

He said that some elements wanted to create instability and chaos in Pakistan through baseless propaganda on the social media. However, the propaganda on the social media was being countered by the state machinery, including Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, Federal Investigation Agency, and Ministry of Information and broadcasting, he added.

The minister said that making fun of political parties and their leaders was not in the interest of the country as it could make the people indifferent towards the system.

Besides Secretary Information and Broadcasting Shahera Shahid, Principal Information Officer Dr Tariq Mehmood Khan, senior officers of the Information Ministry and its attached departments were also present in the seminar.