KP info dept says being dragged into politics

PESHAWAR: In an official handout, the Provincial Information Department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa vehemently contradicts a doubtful news story appearing in the Daily News International by its reporter attributing it either to the segment of reporter’s imagination or planted by someone to tarnish the image of provincial government. This office is at loss to understand as to why the Information Department was being constantly dragged into politics and for political motion that is incomprehensible.

The Provincial Information Department in a rejoinder issued here Friday was at loss to understand as to why a reputed international daily gathered heap of disinformation, manipulating words and playing with the figures misquoting the actual ground reality being practiced through a well-planned transparent mechanism of the Provincial Information Department. The reporter claimed the decline in the distribution of advertisements in the caretaker government. The actual reality is that the caretaker set-up had no authority to undertake even minor developmental activities what to talk of major developmental activities because the caretaker set up had no mandate beyond the holding of transparent elections, therefore, the decline in the issuance of government advertisements is across the board and not limited to a single newspaper.

Another point that the Information Department contradicts is the volume of advertisement to daily Surkhab. The reality is that the newspaper is far behind the contemporarily newspapers even a single major newspaper of the province is getting six time more advertisements on the ground that the newspaper had two time more circulation in the province. The fluctuation in the issuance of advertisements is due to the flow of advertisements bounded by the developmental and welfare activities and the budgetary allocation of the province.

The ownership and publishing rights of the newspaper still rest with the brother of the Provincial Minister for Information which was earlier held by the Minister but in the new scenario due to conflict of interest, the ownership shifted to the brother of the Minister. The Provincial Minister had never been the printer or publisher of the newspaper, therefore, the allegations made in the story are baseless having no ground.

The Information Department has no interest in investigating the actual circulation of the Jang Group as a whole nor it has any say in determining the true circulation statistics of any newspaper. The Federal Press Information Department is the sole empowered Federal entity for the fixation of both circulation figure and award of rates to the newspapers across the country. The Information Department was not even interested to point at the Jang Group for the punishment and subsequent reward of the group during the PML-N rules in the past.

Furthermore, the Jang Group had laid off score of employees and shut down its Urdu newspapers in Peshawar but despite that the quantum of advertisement issued to the group remain unchanged.

The Provincial Information Department also astonished over the ignorance of the reporter who even did not bother to verify issuance of rates and enhancement of circulation is the sole jurisdiction of the federal government. He can also be sued in the court of law for his mudslinging and slanderous reporting.

As long as Information Department of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and its advertisement distribution formula is concerned, it is the first ever entity which introduced the Right to Information Law in the province making proactive disclosure of all types of information removing the bar of even classified information and that is one of the reason that the law framed by the Information Department for the provincial government was ranked among the three top laws the world over.

The Information department have had a pro-active information disclosure policy posting all advertisements on its website for the wider publicity. The transparent mechanism could further be judged from the fact that Minister Information, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa recently ordered constitution of a committee for award of advertisements with proper TORs to ensure fair play, just and transparent distribution of advertisements The transparency in the affairs of information department is so visible which cannot be influenced by any elected and government functionaries.

The Provincial Minister for Information is not even an exception. The Information Minister has given free hand to facilitate visible transparency in the advertisements releases and disposal of journalistic and other government affairs. The latest example is the rejection of City Mail newspaper owned by brother of Minister Information. The committee headed by the Secretary Information with members such as Director General and representatives of Finance Department and others, a couple of days earlier, rejected the City Mail’s placement on the Provincial Media List that is a glaring example of how much independent and powerful body it is and how much it is against any political or governmental interference. The other allegation is the increase of rate which is the sole propagative of the Federal Information Department including the figures and rates determination.

The Provincial Information department confirms that Daily Surkhab, Peshawar is one of the elderly dailies of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and on the Provincial Media List for more than one and a half decades.

The printing and publishing rights have been shifted to Mr. Liaqat Ali as per our record. The provincial government has a law enacted by the previous ANP rule in the province baring the shifting of declaration from outside blood relationship.