PM fortifies media team

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has strengthened his media team by inducting Yousaf Baig Mirza as special assistant. No government has such a heavy bevy media managers.

It now comprises three figures. They have different assignments to attend to. In Punjab too, the PTI government has two-man squad-- Fayyazul Hassan Chohan, who is the information minister, and one Dr Shahbaz Gill, who serves as the provincial spokesman.

Yousaf Baig Mirza has a long experience in the media industry and has held top positions in the state-run TV and different private TV channels. His precise designation is the special assistant on media affairs. He will draw no emoluments attached with the official position.

There is no mention that he will have the status of the federal minister or minister of state (MoS). The Cabinet Division website has included his name in the federal cabinet. In the case of Iftikhar Durrani, who was taken as the special assistant after the present government came in place, it was stated that he will have the status of the MoS. Before the PTI was voted into power, he used to work in its press wing for years.

Working journalists often contact the readily available Durrani for the official version on the stories they are working on. Except the specialised subjects like financial affairs, he has the answers to all sorts of questions. He attends most of the official meetings chaired by the prime minister on various issues.

Federal Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry is the principal federal spokesman. He looks after the information ministry and represents the central government at different forums. Besides, he presides over he state run TV and Radio. In the past whenever a government appointed more than one person to deal with the media, friction often cropped up between them, affecting its performance. At times, the row caused by the overlapping and duplication of duties led to the resignation by one such position holder or the other.

However, an experiment that has largely been successful avoiding any bad blood during the tenures of the previous governments has been the appointment of two spokesmen for the local and international media.

After Yousaf Baig Mirza’s inclusion in Imran Khan’s core team, it consists of 24 federal ministers, six MoSs, four advisers and eight special assistants.

Initially the prime minister had a small team which kept swelling up with new inductions. Earlier, Iftikhar Durrani told The News that the cabinet is expanded on the need basis and keeping in view the specialisation of the new inductees.

Durrani said that they (he and Yousaf Baig Mirza) will work together, and it was good that an able team has been built for media handling. “Yousaf Baig Mirza has been our colleague and possesses good PR skills and long experience in the media. Reforms are also needed and he will help in this respect as well.” The special assistant said the boss of the media team was the information minister and it works under him. Coordination is also done with the prime minister’s office, he said.

Durrani said Tahir A Khan, who has been notified as the chairman of the special projects, attends the morning meetings of the media people in his official capacity.