Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan on Friday said that when the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leadership talks about fascism, the mind goes to Model Town Lahore carnage.
In a tweet, the SAPM said that shooting and torturing of women and elderly was an example of fascism and it was strange that “Gullu Butts of politics” were giving lectures.
She said that Naya Pakistan was name of rule of law and nobody was above the law now.
She said that law of the land used to be subservient to former rulers, but now they were facing law, so their cries were justified.
Meanwhile, Firdous Ashiq Awan said a comprehensive media policy would be prepared in consultation with the stakeholders to resolve the problems of media workers.
Addressing a function of Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) and All Pakistan Newspapers Employees Confederation (APNEC) at the National Press Club (NPC), she said the rights of media workers would be protected at all costs.
She said the vague salary structure of media workers was the root cause of issues being confronted by them. The media workers should also be registered at the Employees Old-Age Benefit Institution (EOBI), so that they could benefit from the Workers Welfare Fund (WWF), she added.
It was heartening to note that almost all the satellite television channels had been registered with the EOBI, she remarked.
Dr Firdous said the government had paid Rs 190 million outstanding dues to the media houses before Eid with the condition that they would pay outstanding salaries to their workers. Moreover, cheques of Rs140 million had also been issued before June 30.
She said Prime Minister Imran Khan realizing the problems of media workers issued directives for payment of those advertisements which the previous government had released against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.
She said the International Monetary Fund’s economic package was manifestation of the world community’s trust in the economic policies of PTI government, which was a great achievement of the prime minister.
Rejecting the opposition’s claims about the Billion Tree Tsunami Programme, she said the project had been appreciated internationally. Instead of counting trees, the opposition leaders should better count the money plundered by them and deposit the same in the national exchequer so that the people of Pakistan could be provided relief, she added.
The special assistant said the PTI government had inherited massive debt and losses, and opted for borrowing to pay interest on the loans taken by the previous regimes, she added.
The foundations of Naya Pakistan, she said, had already been laid through reforms. Under the Benami properties act, the whistle-blowers would get 3 percent per share of the sale proceeds of confiscated properties, she added.
Dr Firdous said the rulers of Sindh would have to disconnect themselves from corruption, otherwise the people would disassociate themselves from them.
Dr Firdous said Pakistan was included in the Road to Makkah project due to the efforts of Prime Minister Imran Khan. Under the project, immigration process of the intending Hujjaj was being completed in Pakistan. Saudi Arabia, she said, had also increased Pakistan’s Hajj quota up to 200,000 on the prime minister’s request.
She said Prime Minister Imran Khan was quite well versed with the problems of common man and trying to resolve them.
Punjab Chief Minister’s Adviser Shabaz Gill said that the provincial government would soon release outstanding dues of Rs 260 million to the media houses.
