Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar has termed the strengthening of electronic media and the protection of media workers as a national need and said that the government and all stakeholders must work together to resolve the financial difficulties faced by the media industry.

Speaking in the National Assembly, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Atta Tarar said that electronic media is playing an important role in national interest, public awareness and democratic process, therefore, joint measures are indispensable for its survival and stability. He said that government advertisements are given according to the ratings of the channels and funds are provided to top, mid and third tier channels on this basis. He said that in the previous era, the negative effects of the reduction in advertising rates of TV channels were revealed, while it is the responsibility of the government to run public awareness campaigns including polio, anti-terrorism, climate change and digital wallet.

Minister for Information Atta Tarar said that electronic media has to be accountable to PEMRA, FBR and other regulatory bodies. He said that the opposition is also given equal opportunity with the government in electronic media talk shows and news. The Information Minister said that the digital media policy has not yet been fully approved, while a separate procedure is adopted by PR firms for government campaigns.

He said that the use of football manufactured in Pakistan, especially Sialkot, in the FIFA World Cup is a matter of pride and despite limited resources, PTV Sports obtained the broadcasting rights of the World Cup to provide access to global sports broadcasts to the youth. He said that PTV is not facing any financial crisis at the moment.

Atta Tarar clearly stated that as the Information Minister, he is not in favor of bonuses or honorariums, because this is public money, however, if officers in PTV have been given budget honorarium, other workers will not be deprived of it and a decision in this regard will be taken on the basis of the performance report of the media wing of the National Assembly.

He suggested introducing a new policy of financial assistance in case of job loss for media workers and said that channels should devise a financial package and child support system for the families of such employees. He announced that the issue of salaries and other facilities of media employees would be raised in a special meeting with the Pakistan Broadcast Association.
The Information Minister said that the difference in salaries of anchors and other media employees is linked to the business model, however, the rights of reporters and other staff should not be affected on this basis. He expressed his determination to take both sides of the House together to resolve the problems of media workers.

Atta Tarar expressed regret over the boycott of the Senate Standing Committee on Information and said that the guidance of the committee headed by Senator Ali Zafar was valuable and his absence was being felt. He said that a common strategy must be adopted by ending the division on the media front and the issue would be vigorously raised with the Pakistan Broadcast Association to protect the rights of media workers.