Maryam links Pakistan’s progress to PM

Says completion of CPEC to benefit entire region

ISLAMABAD: Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Maryam Aurangzeb Wednesday said Pakistan’s progress was linked to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and added it was not propaganda but a reality that how would CPEC have become a reality had there been no motorway built by the PML-N government.

She expressed these views during her visit to the bureau offices of daily Jang and The News here. She welcomed election of Donald Trump as US president, expressing the hope that the Pakistan-US relations would further be strengthened during his stint.

The minister was confident that the entire region would benefit from the completion of CPEC. She said there was a need for concerted efforts to project Pakistan’s positive image abroad. She noted there was also a need to send a message across the globe that Pakistan was a far better country in terms of economic activities and investment. Marriyum said that the PML-N government had crushed the menace of a terrorism to a great extent.

The minister substantiated her contention by pointing out that in 2013 alone, there had been 2,480 suicide attacks and terrorist hits, whereas these had now been reduced to 246 in 2016. She said that the energy crisis was about to end and power loadshedding had also been reduced by half and national economy was stable now. She said a safe, healthy and well-educated Pakistan was the incumbent government’s top priorities.

The minister said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s daughter Maryam was also working while remaining close to her father and her politics was a manifestation of her maturity.

She said that special attention was being given to sharing details of CPEC with masses. She added it had also been decided to persistently impart training to employees of the state-owned entities and journalists. She insisted there was a need that journalists should abide by the code of conduct and noted in this context the academy of the ministry was being made active.

Earlier, she had exchange of views on various matters with journalists belonging to Jang and The News in a frank manner. Geo's Hamid Mir and PIO Rao Tehsin were also present on the occasion, besides senior officials from her ministry. She lauded provision of modern facilities to journalists of Jang and The News by the Jang Group.

The minister acknowledged the fact the Jang Group had set high standards of journalism. Tahir Khalil and Tariq Butt of The News apprised her of the performance of their respective organisations.  Umar Cheema, Pervaiz Shaukat, Ayub Nasir, Mohi Shah, Waqar Gilani, Fakhar Durrani, Asim Javed, Tanvir Hashmi, Bilal Dar, Atif Sherazi, Asim Yasin, Muhammad Anis, Mumtaz Alvi, Sohail Khan, Khalid Mustafa, Usman Manzoor and Israr Khan were also present on the occasion.