Waqar Naseem Wamiq
RIYADH — A conference on “the role of Pakistani media” was held here by Pakistan Peoples Party, Riyadh Chapter. The conference was presided by Fayyaz Ali Khan, head of PPP Riyadh region. Community Welfare Attaché Capt. (R) Syed Hammad Abid was the chief guest and Ch. Rizwan Rashid, a visiting journalist, was the special guest of the occasion. Javid Iqbal participated as an observer.
The conference began with the recitation of some verses of the Holy Qur’an by Faisal Alvi, and Rao Tahir conducted the conference ably.
Khalid Rana presented the objectives of the conference. “There’s a growing concern over the role of Pakistani media, as peoples are experiencing some biased reporting, our objective is to obtain some constructive points in order to set our media in the right direction.”
Younas Abu Ghalib stated that media is a source of knowledge and their role can never be neglected, “once our media had some respect but now their credibility is at stake, they must review their policies,” he added.
Shamshad Ali Siddique of Pakistan Cultural Group briefly shed light on the topic and recalled the prolific roles of most renowned journalists of their times Hasrat Mohani and Maulana Zafar Ali Khan.
“Pakistani media has strong roots, it originated under the historic movement of Pakistan and under the great leadership of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Unfortunately, our free media has derailed itself from their track nowadays, and they should rebuild by trying to maintain good standards,” he added.
Jafar Khan, media secretary of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Riyadh, widely praised the Pakistani media. “We should not forget the sacrifices of media and their struggles.” He was hopeful their role would increase and become better.
Malik Nadeem Sher, a media representative, condemned the rating race. “Our media should quit the rating race, as it is a destructive element for our society.” He praised educational and useful programs presented by the media.
Khalid Akram Rana, of PML-N, urged media to cover overseas Pakistanis. “The voice of overseas Pakistanis should be heard by the authorities so their issues can be resolved.”
H. M. Fayyaz, a journalist, described the responsibilities of journalists and stated that their role should be for the betterment of the society and they should refrain from reporting false and biased stories.
Iftikhar Ahmed Khan of Majlis-e-Pakistan was critical that media had changed its track from collectivism to individualism.
Wasim Sajid of PPP strongly condemned the role of media. “The fourth pillar of the state has become an industry of creating zeros into heroes, anchors become judges, analysts become lawyers and media owners are openly buying truth,” he said.
Faisal Alvi, Jamiat e Ahl e Hadees, elaborated on media’s strength in Pakistan. “Currently thousands of media workers are in more than 100 channels in Pakistan but most of them are not skilled. It’s a challenge for government to control media and should impose some code of conduct to rein in their belligerency.”
Behram Khan of ANP stated media as the key pillar of the state and urged them to play their positive role. Mufti Jawad Hussain of JUI suggested the media should give balanced reporting on a broader spectrum of issues rather than playing favorites.
Waqar Naseem Wamiq and Babar Ali stressed on the implementations of the rules and laws of media.
Mubashar Anwaar was hopeful that the media would get better. “Our media got freedom just a few years ago and needs some more time to be mature enough.”
Imam Baksh, Malik Shafiq Awan, Khadim Hussain Gujjar and Altaf Khalil also spoke on the occasion.
Chief Guest Abid shared some experiences of his interactions with the media and said, “Media is a powerful tool and it has played a vital role in shaping the society.”
“Media should project the better and larger image of Pakistan as much as possible. He stressed on the implementation of code of conduct and suggested to impose heavy fines in case of any misconduct,” he added.
Fayyaz Ali Khan, in his presidential speech, said, “It is noted that most of the speakers of today’s extraordinary conference showed their concerns about the role of Pakistani media especially the unsatisfactory role of PEMRA.
“Pakistani Media is very active and a source of news, entertainment and knowledge. Government should take necessary measures and review the PEMRA’s role in order to implement the code of conduct. Media should react responsibly, abide by the code of conduct and equip themselves with the latest available technologies and skills,” he concluded.
In his vote of thanks Khalid Rana thanked the attendees and vowed to continue such positive debates. The conference was attended by Pakistani journalists in Riyadh and media representatives of various political and social organizations.
