Bugti voices concern over closure of national channels’ Quetta bureaus and sackings

QUETTA: Chief Minister Balochistan Mir Sarfraz Bugti has once again expressed deep concern over the closure of the Quetta bureaus of national media channels and the sacking of media workers. He said the owners of media houses must feel for the problems of poor and hardworking media workers. He said most owners of national television channels were his personal friends, but he had already conveyed his concern to them on this important matter.

The Chief Minister said this in reply to questions from national media journalists attending the 20th National Workshop Balochistan. He said most media workers in Balochistan were hardworking people performing their duties with limited resources. He said the government had always kept in view the welfare of the cameramen and other media workers who serve behind the camera, along with the journalists seen in front of it.

He said that, for the first time in the history of Balochistan, it had been decided to build free residential flats for cameramen in the Journalist Colony. He said work on the project was progressing.

Balochistan limited to crime news in national media

Mir Sarfraz Bugti regretted that the national media mostly limited Balochistan to crime news, while the development projects, good governance and public welfare measures under way in the province did not get the attention they deserved.

He said important journalists from the national media took part in every batch of the National Workshop Balochistan, where they gained first-hand knowledge of ground realities, public problems and government measures in Balochistan. He said it was therefore the responsibility of the national media to highlight the development projects and public service measures of the state and the Balochistan government, along with the Law and Order situation.

The Chief Minister said news of crimes in remote areas of the province quickly made it to the national media, but historic public welfare measures were often ignored. As an example, he said the previous day a modern system for issuing e-local and e-domicile certificates had been introduced for the first time in the history of Balochistan. However, he said, this important reform did not get the prominent place on national television channels that crime news was given.

He said the Balochistan government, because of its limited development budget, could not spend resources on large-scale publicity campaigns like other provinces. “Our priority is to spend these resources on public service rather than on promoting ourselves, so that a school or hospital can be made functional in some remote rural area. Serving the people and the verdict of history matter more to us than momentary praise.”

The Chief Minister Balochistan said all government policies and measures centred on the ordinary working citizen of Balochistan, who struggles to support his family in scorching heat and bitter cold. He said the government was continuing to take practical steps to improve the lives of this class.

He praised the services of Chief Secretary Balochistan Shakeel Qadir Khan in promoting the reform agenda and good governance. He said that, as principal adviser officer of the government machinery, he had always given priority to the law, merit, transparency and public interest, and positive results were emerging.

On the occasion, national media journalists attending the workshop pledged that they would also give special importance in their organisations and programmes to the development side of Balochistan, reform measures and public welfare projects.

Photo: courtesy DGPR Balochistan