KARACHI: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that terrorists and hostile countries are spreading disinformation, vowing to counter such propaganda through legislation with the support of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ).
He emphasised that national issues can only be resolved by winning people’s hearts, not by using force, and expressed the hope that the federal government would respect the journalist fraternity and review some of its policies.
Bilawal was addressing a dinner hosted by Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah in honour of the PFUJ Executive Council at the CM House on Friday. He attended the event as the chief guest. The dinner was also attended by Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti, members of the Sindh cabinet and PFUJ leaders from across the country.
The PPP chairman said he agreed with the Sindh CM’s view that the PFUJ was not just an organisation but a movement. He paid tribute to journalists who stood alongside pro-democracy activists during the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy (MRD) and faced bans on newspapers with resilience.
He recalled how journalists protested against restrictions during the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD) movement, while his late mother, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto, always stood shoulder to shoulder with the media and personally visited journalists to express solidarity.
Highlighting media’s role during the conflict with India, Bilawal said Pakistani journalism, with its commitment to credibility and truth, defeated Indian propaganda in the same way as the Pakistan Air Force had outclassed India in the air. He also acknowledged the positive impact of lifting restrictions on digital media, which proved to be an asset during wartime.
Bilawal pledged full implementation of laws ensuring journalists’ safety and urged the journalist community to support government efforts against terrorism and propaganda. He said false narratives were being spread about Balochistan, Sindh and Kashmir, and legislation with PFUJ’s help would be introduced to counter disinformation.
He welcomed journalists’ visits to Sindh and shared details of the country’s largest rehabilitation programme for flood victims, which also grants women ownership rights to homes – a scheme that he termed both a housing initiative and a women’s empowerment and poverty alleviation programme. He expressed his desire to see a similar scheme launched in Balochistan and urged journalists to cover development projects in the province.
Bilawal said Balochistan faced serious challenges, including terrorism, but these could only be solved through winning hearts, not coercion. He added that during his next visit to Islamabad, he would again meet with journalists.
In his address, Sindh CM Murad Ali Shah said the PPP and PFUJ have always walked the same path and never surrendered to civil or military dictators. He described the PFUJ as a movement rather than just a union, recalling how it was founded in 1950 by visionary journalists M A Shakoor and Israr Ahmed, following the creation of the Sindh, Hyderabad and Karachi unions of journalists.
He said the PFUJ, under courageous leaders like Minhaj Barna and Nisar Usmani, had waged historic struggles for press freedom, including the 17-day nationwide strike in 1970 for implementation of the Wage Board Award when no newspapers were published in either East or West Pakistan.
The CM praised the PPP’s support for journalists’ causes under Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Shaheed Benazir Bhutto and recalled how the PFUJ spearheaded protests when General Musharraf banned electronic media in 2007, with 150 journalists in Karachi alone participating in an 88-day protest.
Murad Ali Shah noted that Sindh had established Pakistan’s first Journalists Protection Commission and has consistently taken the lead in safeguarding journalists’ rights, including providing housing facilities. He said PPP governments have always solved journalists’ problems and paid tribute to the PFUJ, recalling the sacrifices of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Shaheed Benazir Bhutto.
He stressed Sindh has historically led resistance movements, first against dictatorship and now against terrorism, poverty and economic hardship. “Our struggle will continue,” he vowed.
Balochistan CM Sarfraz Bugti, in his remarks, said that when PFUJ friends visited Balochistan, they saw the reality on the ground. He noted improvements in the province’s situation and expressed commitment to further progress, urging journalists to help improve Balochistan’s perception through their reporting.