Govt striving to resolve media issues: Samsam

LAHORE: Punjab Information and Culture Minister Syed Samsam Ali Bukhari said Thursday the government was making all-out efforts to solve the problems of the journalist community. He was chairing a departmental meeting at the office of DGPR Punjab here on Thursday.

Secretary Information Momin Agha, DGPR Punjab Dr. Muhammad Aslam Dogar and others attended the meeting. The minister said the government was striving to remove barriers in payment of advertisement dues to the media houses, adding the PTI government was fully aware of the importance of strengthening of journalist bodies for the continuity of democracy and journalistic liberties in society as the role of media could not be ignored in promoting public opinion and highlighting governmental policies and priorities before the public.

He said that the government departments and other institutions were being contacted so that the media houses could be paid their pending dues at the earliest. He said that the government believed in maintaining cordial relations with the media, and continuous liaison with the media was the symbol of success of any government.

He said the PTI government considered media as a bridge between the government and the public and gave it its due importance. "There was no doubt that media is reflective of the society and the governments formulating their policies in the light of media reports can never fail," the minister concluded.