CM directs officials to clear dues of media houses

PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Mahmood Khan on Saturday directed the Information and Finance departments to clear the arrears of media houses within a month.

He was chairing a meeting about the media strategy of the provincial government, said an official handout.

Provincial cabinet members Taimur Saleem Jhagra, Shaukat Yousafzai, Kamran Bangash and Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Amjad Ali Khan, Secretary Information Zakaullah Khattak and others attended the meeting.

Mahmood Khan directed the officials to prepare a plan for the payment of the arrears within a month. The chief minister tasked his Principal Secretary Amjad Ali Khan with convening a meeting of the high-ups of all departments to finalize matters.

The meeting discussed matters to inform the public about the achievements of the provincial government over the last four years with special focus on public welfare initiatives, institutional reforms and measures taken under the good governance strategy.

The meeting decided to highlight the issues of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with the federal government by formulating a media strategy.

It decided to engage journalists and their representative bodies so that issues of the province , particularly of the merged areas, could be raised in an effective manner through media platforms.

It was also decided to form a core group comprising the members of the provincial cabinet so that the narrative of the provincial government could be promoted in the media.

The chief minister said the federal government was doing injustice to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa particularly the newly merged districts. He said the federal government had reduced the development budget for the tribal districts instead of increasing it. He said the federal government was considering excluding KP’s development projects from the Public Sector Development Programme.

Mahmood Khan added his government would not compromise on the rights of the province and would use every available forum to raise its voice.

He termed the media platforms as the most effective means to raise the voice of the provincial government on the issue, and directed the authorities to work out the modalities of the new media strategy as soon as possible.