PM Imran Khan takes major step to protect rights of media workers

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan issued special directives to Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to ensure the protection of rights of the print and electronic media workers, ARY News reported on Tuesday.

Sources said PM Imran Khan took a major step by directing the information ministry to block issuance of government advertisement to those media houses not clearing salary dues of its workers.

The premier directed the ministry to put a condition for the issuance of government advertisement to only media houses that cleared all dues of its employees, sources added.

On January 23, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting, Firdous Ashiq Awan, had said the federal government is bringing a new media policy which will transform the journalism into a powerful institution.

Read: Firdous urges media to play role in empowering institutions

Firdous Ashiq Awan, while addressing a press conference in Islamabad today, said journalism is now shaped into an institution that will have to empower other institutions of the country. She announced to bring a new media policy that will not be restricted to advertisements only.

She elaborated that the National Media Policy will secure the rights of the journalists and other media workers, whereas, the state will act as an information ministry to empower the journalism institution.

“Nations face a different kind of challenges but now the journey towards improvement has commenced. We are now envisaging a roadmap to balancing the rights and duties of the journalists. It is the government’s responsibility to secure journalists’ rights as they perform duties for the betterment of our society.”