ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan Thursday said the government was committed to protect rights of journalists and work for their economic well-being. Speaking at the launching ceremony of the book “Nisaf sadi ka sahafati safar†penned by prominent journalist Hanif Khalid, she said the Ministry of Information under her guidance and leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan would move forward to expand and strengthen the role of journalists in highlighting and resolving problems faced by the country. She said the government for the first time had introduced the national media policy to represent the aspirations of the journalist community. The special assistant said journalism was a difficult profession and a journalist had to convey truth to the society and pinpoint its problems. The journalist had to create a balance between his rights and responsibilities, she added. She said every field in the society had its constraints, problems and challenges, and same was the case with the media which had its own set of challenges. The journalists also faced economic issues as were faced by other sectors of economy but now the journey for improvement had begun, she noted. Dr Firdous said the state and the media would work together, and perform their duties to protect each others’ rights. She said the writer had rightly highlighted the issues that the public had been facing in the last 50 years. She expressed the hope that the writer would continue his five decades journey in journalism for a long time to come and others would learn from his experiences.
