ISLAMABAD – The Women’s Media Centre’s effort of mobilizing and strengthening women over the years has been commendable, said Senator Lieutenant General (R) Abdul Qayyum of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) while addressing the certificate distribution ceremony of five- day electronic media workshop in Islamabad.
He stated that Article 19 of the Constitution gives you freedom of expression within limits. Adding to this, he also said that we cannot be as free as the West; we have some values and regulations.
“Journalist must be neutral”
Mr. Qayyum also said that yellow journalism has brought lots of criticism to this profession and hurt the main core of journalism.
The PML-N leader defined Journalism as a prestigious profession as It requires news verification and research.
While giving the example of the US invasion of Vietnam he said that the US media played a positive role in highlighting the American atrocities in Vietnam to the extent where the US had to withdraw its forces from Vietnam.
He also criticized the role that international media played in Iraq where the negative attitude of media resulted in the death of thousands of precious lives. He further stated that Journalism based on truth and reality is like worship.
“The youth are the architects of Pakistan. Their mission should be to serve the country and the nation honestly in every field, including journalism,” said Abdul Qayyum.
After concluding his address Senator Abdul Qayyum distributed the certificates among the participants and applauded WMC’s resort to educate the next generation of female journalists to bridge the gap of gender inequality in media.
This workshop, “Freedom of Expression: Independent Journalism In Digital Era” was arranged by Women Media Center, Pakistan in collaboration with National Endowment for Democracy in Islamabad.
