She stated this while speaking at the concluding session of the two days National Media Conference entitled "Dissecting Pakistani media from a Free, Independent and Responsible Media (FRIM) perspective" organised by Individual and Pakistan (IL-Pakistan) a non-governmental organisation, in collaboration with Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF). Around 200 journalists from the different parts of the country participated in the conference.
Senior Journalist Ghazi Salahuddin said that the media in Pakistan had still not figured out what to show and what not to highlight. Researcher, writer Wajahat Masood said that the press is free to report on anything which is anti-US, anti-India, anti-women and anti-minorities and that's how the press is free. What we are not free to write is anything that is nearer to truth and objectivity," said Masood. The media in recent times has become the arm of vested interests, he added.
Shahzada Zulfiqar said that in Balochistan there is nothing like an independent media. He said that the coverage of Balochistan was not in the interest of the media due to rating issues. Columnist Haris Khalique shed light on the inadequacies of English/Urdu medium. He said that going by statistics, the mainstream medium of Urdu has been confined to the urban centres and government offices.
Dr Thomas Ditt, head of press and cultural section embassy of Germany said that Pakistan is currently coping with numerous challenges and problems and to pull the country out from this difficult situation, the media has a vital role to play. He said that the Pakistan is free and independent therefore media organisations must play their positive role to resolve various issue creating hurdles in the development of the country. The media is the fourth pillar of the state and it also controls other pillars of the state but there is a dire need to establish a system to ensure check and balance in the media, he added. "There are so many languages being spoken in this country and there is a need to promote these regional languages by broadcasting different programmes", he maintained.
Raja Shafqat Khan Abbassi Chairman Press Council of Pakistan said that the media in Pakistan is to a large extent operating freely and this was not the situation a decade ago. The much needed freedom has not only resulted in the growth and development of the media as an industry, but has also with the passage of time, created a sense of responsibility not only among journalists but also among the citizens, he asserted.
He said that the Pakistani media has played a vital role in the last 10 years especially for the promotion and restoration of democracy. He also urged journalists to perform their duties following the code of ethics and to not act like a judge.