Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage Marriyum Aurangzeb, addressing a seminar on climate change jointly organized by the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), said that after tackling the phenomenon of terrorism, the country was fast moving towards rediscovering its original narrative.

She said that as a result of the successes achieved in the field of education, climate change, films and sports, the real identity of Pakistan was being highlighted at the global level. She said that in the 1960s, Pakistan had a vibrant film industry and was a renowned name in sports and other activities.

The minister said that efforts were needed to be made on priority basis to deal with the challenges thrown up by climate change and also to create awareness among the masses. She said the media could play a significant role in informing the people about government policies and scientific information on climate changes.

She said media had played a significant role in dealing with terrorism and highlighting Pakistan’s identity internationally, and could also play a similar role in dealing with challenges related to climate change.

She informed the audience that National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq had established a separate secretariat in the parliament for implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Parliament of Pakistan was the first to take this initiative. She stated there was also a sub-committee of the secretariat on climate change where all the parties were represented and it was doing a commendable job.

The minister said her degree in higher education also pertained to the subject of climate and before this [her ministership] she had been shouldering the responsibility of creating awareness through media. She said the government was starting a training programme for journalists in the Information Service Academy, adding that women could prove to be better reporters on climate change.

She said due to relentless efforts of the government, the legal and constitutional state institutions, as well as democracy were gaining strength. She said the opposition parties should play a positive role in tackling the challenges confronting the country and the parliament was the appropriate forum to resolve issues of the masses. Instead of doing politics of criticism for the sake of criticism and generating unnecessary confrontation, there was a need to resolve public issues collectively and take the country forward, she added.

The minister said that international cricket had been restored in Pakistan and the country was achieving successes in all domains of national life.

She appreciated the efforts of CPNE and UNDP for organizing the seminar and also producing a guide book for journalists regarding reporting issues pertaining to climate change.

The seminar was attended by a number of journalists, CPNE Senior Vice President Shaheen Qureshi, Vice President Mehtab Khan, UNDP Director, editors of newspapers and representatives of electronic and print media.

Published in Daily Times, October 18^th 2017.