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Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) organized a three-day workshop on “ Monitoring Press Freedom in Local Communities” at Press Club Darya Khan, district Bhakkar, Punjab for local journalists on 19-21 March 2005. Darya Khan is an important business center of Thal area, located 45 kilometers north of district town of Bhakkar.
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PPF Workshop on Monitoring Press Freedom in Darya Khan,District Bhakkar
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March 19,2005 |
Location: |
Darya |
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Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) organized a three-day workshop on “ Monitoring Press Freedom in Local Communities” at Press Club Darya Khan, district Bhakkar, Punjab for local journalists on 19-21 March 2005. Darya Khan is an important business center of Thal area, located 45 kilometers north of district town of Bhakkar.
The workshop held at Press Club was attended by 16 press correspondents representing national, regional and local newspapers and magazines.
The PPF instructors’ team consisted of Mr. Fazal Qureshi, vice chairman PPF, and Mr. Rao Mohammad Shabbir, a veteran journalist from Bhakkar.
Mr. Fazal Qureshi in his opening remarks informed the participants about the role of PPF in the defence of freedom of press in Pakistan in collaboration with national and international media organizations.
In the first session, Rao Shabbir moderated a discussion with participating journalists on the state of freedom of press in their area.
This was followed with a distribution of written material on national and international laws and conventions on freedom of press. A booklet in Urdu entitled A Guide to Defence of Freedom of Press translated by PPF, was also distributed to the participants.
Mr. Fazal Qureshi then gave a detailed review of the various laws related to the media such as the laws of defamation and contempt of court and The Official Secrets Act. He explained that despite the increasing level of freedom of press in the country, there was still need to be vigilant. The session followed an open discussion on the subject.
Next was a session on “Designing Action A
lerts to Report Press Freedom Violations.” It was explained that an Action Alert was a report of the event or issue, which was sent out to individuals and organizations to seek their support and suggest action to resolve the issue.
A working session and practical exercise on Freedom of Information Rules 2004 took place which allowed access of citizens and journalists to information from government bodies. Participants were provided copies of the law. As a practical exercise, they were asked to discuss and later seek information on subjects of their interests from the Federal Government.
Participants also filled out Freedom of Press Network forms so that they could be contacted for information and comments whenever a case of violation of press freedom occurred in their area and to support each other in the defence and promotion of freedom of information.
In his closing speech Mr. Mohammad Naeem Hashmi President of the Darya Khan Press Club wished that PPF could hold the workshop long enough to cover other aspects of journalism, specially news and article writing.
Mr.Kashif Nazeer, Correspondent Daily Jung, Lahore said the workshop had help improve his understanding of the freedom of press situation in Pakistan.
Mr.Ikram Nasir Piracha, correspondent Daily Khabrain Lahore said it is surprising that amongst other correspondents of Darya Khan, he also had not heard about the Freedom of Information Rules. He said testing government organizations on the subject of supplying information to people was an important step. Certificates were distributed at the concluding session of workshop.
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| List
of Participants |
| Name |
Designation
|
Organization |
| Mr. Malik Asmat Ullah |
Correspondent
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daily Jurrat Lahore |
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Doctor Shaheen Riaz Kamboh |
District Reporter
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Daily Moumla Bhakkar |
| Mr. Ikram Nasir |
correspondent
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Daily Khabrain |
| Mr. Kashif Nadeem |
Correspondent
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daily Jang Lahore |
|
Doctor Rifaqat Ali Tahir |
Correspondent
|
Daily Pakistan Lahore |
| Mr. Mohammad Ashraf Pehalwan |
Correspondent
|
Daily Insaf Lahore |
| Doctor Malik Rab Nawaz |
SpecialReporter
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Weekly Sanwal |
| Mr. Ghulam Abbbas Anjum |
Sub Editor
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Weekly Sanwal |
|
Mr. Arif Hussain |
Correspondent
|
Weekly Sanwal |
| Mr. Mohammad Naeem Hassan Shah |
Correspondent
|
Nawa-i-Waqat Lahore |
|
Mr. Mohammad Haris Naeem Shah |
Correspondent
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I-N-P |
| Mr. Malik Umar Draz |
Reporter
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Daily Insaf Lahore |
| Mr. Naseer Ahmed Nasir |
District Reporter
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Daily Pakistan |
| Mr. Mohammad Shahid Riaz Kamboh |
District Reporter
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Daily Moumla |
|
Mr. Rana Ghulam Mustafa |
Senior Reporter
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Weekly Roza Nawai Bhakkar |
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