CS orders payment of dues to media houses

Punjab Chief Secretary Yousaf Naseem Khokhar on Friday directed the departments concerned to pay outstanding dues to the media houses and submit a report within the given timeframe.

Chairing a meeting at Civil Secretariat, he said that the media played an important role in promotion of good governance, merit, transparency and creating public awareness. He said that a focal person should be nominated in the Finance Department to coordinate with other departments for payment of the outstanding dues.

Information and Culture Secretary Momin Agha briefed the meeting on the outstanding dues owed by different departments. The meeting was attended by the additional chief secretary, Home, administrative secretaries of different departments, Lahore division commissioner, Lahore deputy commissioner and other officers concerned.

Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Secretary Yousaf Naseem Khokhar said that the government was ensuring a conducive environment to investors by taking effective measures for ease of doing business.

He was talking to a 15-member Chinese delegation led by Chinese Ambassador Yao Jing at Punjab Civil Secretariat here. The chief secretary said that China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) would usher in a new era of progress and prosperity in Pakistan.

He said the provincial government was following a comprehensive development plan and in collaboration with the federal government, reforms had been introduced in various sectors which were yielding positive results. Mr Yao Jing said that China was keen to extend cooperation to Pakistan in the fields of agriculture, tourism and social sector.

"Punjab is hub of economic activities. Exchange of delegations and people-to-people contact would help bolster bilateral relations," he added. The delegates were given briefing on investment opportunities, CPEC projects, reforms in different sectors and law and order situation in the province. The delegates thanked the chief secretary and said that the Punjab government's initiatives for progress in the fields of health, education, agriculture and social sector were praiseworthy.