PPP decides to have better relations with media
By Sabir Shah
LAHORE: The Pakistan People’s Party has decided to improve its relationship with media personnel and focus more on the issuance of timely press releases and clarifications, sources told ‘The News’.
The PPP Central Information Secretary, Fauzia Wahab, who returned to Karachi Monday night after spending two busy days in Lahore, has instructed her new deputy Barrister Haider Zaman Qureshi to increase his interactions with the correspondents entrusted with the responsibility of covering her party’s beat on daily basis.
Having reportedly gained a lot of inspiration from the working mode and timing of the PML-N Media Wing, Fauzia Wahab has also advised her deputy Barrister Haider to counter any anti-PPP propaganda without resorting to the use of harsh language, through facts and research only.
Haider Zaman, who has also worked in Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani’s constituency in Multan during the 2008 polls, was recently appointed as Fauzia’s deputy after being interviewed by President Asif Ali Zardari’s Political Secretary Rukhsana Bangash in Islamabad.
Fauzia Wahab, who was in Lahore along with her younger son Murtaza, had stayed at the Governor’s House where Federal Law Minister Babar Awan was also seen jogging on Sunday evening.
Talking to The News before her departure to Karachi, Fauzia Wahab said, “Yes, we are surely working on improving our liaison with the national press. We may be having complaints against a section of the media, but that doesn’t mean we are at loggerheads with it or we are nourishing any grudge against those writing or speaking against us. There is always room to improve your working in line with the modern trends. In the past, we were never really bothered about undesirable or unfavorable reporting, but the president thinks any false impressions hurting or affecting the party’s image should be dispelled forthwith.”
She added, “We have been instructed by the Presidency neither to speak against the judiciary, not to air any objectionable remarks against our coalition partners. As far as gaining inspiration from the PML-N to improve the working of our Media Wing is concerned, this query is again a teaser. We are coalition partners with the PML-N in the Punjab and have enjoyed a similar relationship with this party at the federal level also. All political parties should be united at this juncture when the monster of terrorism is haunting every Pakistani. The country’s sovereignty and its image are both at stake. The president thus believes that any mud-slinging from either side at this delicate time of our history, would only ignite tensions and encourage the terrorists.”
Fauzia asserted, “I strongly believe that if our Media Wing starts issuing timely clarifications about any misreporting aimed at tarnishing the PPP’s image, it will be handling the issues more professionally. More interactions with the media will help journalists know the factual position about our party’s policies. A more cordial rapport will hence neutralize the myths and help reality reign.”
Source: The News
Date:7/6/2010
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