ISLAMABAD: Minister of State for Law and Justice Shahadat Awan on Tuesday said there was no plan under consideration regarding giving advertisements to social media journalists.
Responding to a supplementary question, raised by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Senator Faisal Saleem Rehman, the state minister said that there were certain rules such as: Public Procurement Regulatory Authority and Sindh Public Procurement Regulatory Authority for providing government advertisements to the media houses.
The state minister said that social media did not fall in the category of the said rules, adding that if the senators had some comprehensive policy in their mind, it should be discussed so the proposals could be forwarded to the quarters concerned.
Meanwhile, Jamaat-e-Islami Senator Mushtaq Ahmed, highlighting the vital role of media in public life, urged to make cultural programmes in a bid to protect the people from “foreign cultural invasion”.
He flashed back to the past and quoted Pakistan Television’s (PTV) dramas as an example, which used to present the culture of all segments of society impacting positive results in people’s life.
To this, Shahadat Awan said there were 68 channels in the country.
“There are certain private television channels telecasting programmes in the local languages and projecting the culture around the world,” he said.
PTI’s Fida Muhammad Khan proposed to bring Pakistan Radio to par with international standards as it had been going down with the passage of time.
Shahadat Awan said the measures were underway to make Radio Pakistan’s transmission more effective across the country.
To the basic question of Senator Mushtaq, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, in a written reply, said as per Clause-14(6) of Electronic Media (Programmes and Advertisements) Code of Conduct, 2015, advertisements of lotteries, gambling or betting as prohibited under Pakistan Penal Code (Act XLV of 1860) or any other law for the time being in force shall not be aired.
