By Asim Hussain
ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Federal Minister for Information, Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs Murtaza Solangi said on Monday that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MOIB) was launching the media helpline to redress the complaints of both local and foreign journalists during elections.
Addressing the helpline’s launching ceremony, he said in the present era of digital media it was imperative to upgrade and improve working.
The media-complaint application would accessible through any browser to both local and international journalists and media-persons covering the general election 2024, he added.
The minister said that the caretaker government, which was formed under Article 224 of the Constitution, helped the Election Commission of Pakistan in every way to ensure a free and transparent election within the timeframe announced by the latter.
He said only two days were left to the polling day when more than 120 million Pakistanis would exercise their right to vote.
Only people of Pakistan could choose their representatives by using their right to vote to run the affairs of the country as the preamble of the Constitution clearly “states that this country will be run by its elected representatives”, he added.
Earlier, Murtaza Solangi inaugurated the media complaint application at the Press Information Department.
This application will help the media-persons lodge complaints online quickly and efficiently through mobile phones, laptops and other devices during the coverage of election activities.
PID’s Head of Digital Media briefed the audience said that the application would not only resolve the complaints of journalists but also the staff would be deputed to address the complaints of election observers.
He said the app would work as a mediator between different departments and journalists. The complaints would be referred to the departments concerned within no time and then tracked till their resolution
Press Information Officer Tariq Mehmood said that the application was made primarily to address the complaints of journalists during the general elections, however, it would be made a permanent medium for resolve the issues of media-persons in future.
He also announced that an election cell would be set up at the PID on February 7, a day before the general elections, which would be working round the clock to facilitate the journalists.
