ISLAMABAD: Addressing an awards ceremony of the All Pakistan Newspaper Society (APNS) in Islamabad, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi claimed that the present government had vowed to guarantee freedom of expression, and said that the media needed to regulate itself to ensure proper fact checking and objectivity.
PM Abbasi stressed the need for media outlets to guarantee proper fact checking that would ensure no false news stories emerged.
“The media needs reforms today more than it ever did before,” PM Abbasi claimed, and said that the media industry needed to adopt a self-regulating mechanism to provide objective and true news to the people.
The Prime Minister also claimed that the present government had always believed in freedom of expression and wished to protect this right.
“The present government resolved to safeguard freedom of expression from day one. But it is your responsibility to ensure objective reporting,” he said.
The PML-N leader also claimed that constructive criticism was always welcome, but objective journalism also necessitated that media outlets highlight positive aspects as well.
PM Abbasi also highlighted the futility of censorship in today’s social media reliant world, claiming,
“Social media has transformed the media landscape by making all information available to anyone.”
The PM also added that censorship only served short-term interests, but always hurt national interests in the long run.