ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) - Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday assured that the government would make all-out efforts to uplift the media industry and resolve the issues confronting it.
The prime minister, in his message on the World Press Freedom Day, also reiterated the resolve for government’s maximum cooperation to protect the rights of media industry as well as the media workers.
He paid tribute to the journalists, media workers, writers and cameramen and lauded their fight for truth. He said the journalists who sacrificed their lives during coverage in Gaza were the heroes of humanity.
The prime minister said fighting oppression and digging out the truth was the message of the World Press Freedom Day, as well as the lesson from the history. He said the freedom of press and expression were the foundation of democracy and protection of civil rights as well as the voice of truth in society.
The prime minister urged the collective role of media and other stakeholders to create a conducive atmosphere to ensure smooth media functioning. He said the government firmly believed that freedom of media and expression provided guarantee for democratic durability.
The prime minister said that during his 16-month government, Pakistan had improved by seven points in the World Press Freedom Index.
He recalled that at that time, the government had taken steps including legislation for media protection, health insurance, and payment of billions of rupees to media and insurance amount worth millions of rupees to media workers through the NIRC.