Daily Times

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan on Saturday called for better coordination and cooperation among federal and provincial governments to further improve media strategy in the wake of coronavirus spread.

Chairing a video conference attended by information ministers of all the provinces, including Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, Dr Firdous said the objective behind the conference is to make a coordinated media strategy to sensitize the people about the measures being taken to fight the pandemic and their positive outcomes, besides removing the loopholes in the strategy adopted so far.

She said for accuracy, the government has decided to make the decisions of the National Coordination Committee public. All the decisions in the NCC meetings have been taken unanimously but unfortunately a section of media is giving them a twist.

She said the federal government has allocated Rs 50 million for highlighting the NCC decisions through advertisements in both print and electronic media, and the provinces can also follow suit. She stressed that the provincial governments should review implementation of the decisions, measures and challenges for containing the coronavirus.

The special assistant said a WhatsApp group has been created at the ministerial level for sharing of accurate information among the provinces. There is need to highlight the number of recovered patients from coronavirus so that the sense of fear among the people can be removed, she added.

Dr Firdous said the protection of media persons is the topmost priority of her ministry and special protective kits will be provided to those visiting sensitive areas. Three media persons in Punjab, she said, have tested positive for the coronavirus. The Press Information Department (PID) has created a corona journalist app, which will enlist the affected journalists and help them in all possible ways, she added.

The SAPM said a fake news buster website has been developed by the PID so that any baseless and fake news about any province or area can be countered.

Prime Minister Imran Khan, she said, has time and again renewed his pledge that the government will ensure to keep the supply chain of daily use items open. The hoarders and profiteers will be taken to task, she added.

She said a segment of media workers are facing delay in the payment of their salaries. The issue will be resolved on a war footing as the prime minister has issued directives to Adviser on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh to look into the matter and facilitate the media workers through an emergency relief package. She asked the provincial information ministers to take steps for the payment of outstanding dues, if any, in their respective provinces, to the media houses.