Pakistan hosts international media conference

By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AA) - A two-day international media conference kicked off on Sunday in Pakistan's capital Islamabad.

The conference was organized by state news agency Associated Press of Pakistan under the theme "Pakistan's media: Opportunities and Challenges".

It was inaugurated by Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb and Advisor to Prime Minister on National Security retired Lt. Gen. Naseer Khan Janjua.

Representatives from news agencies of 20 countries including Turkey, China, Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, China, Egypt, Greece, Indonesia, Iran, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Romania and Sudan are participating in the conference.

Faruk Tokat, Anadolu Agency's Editor-in-Chief of International News, is representing Turkey in the conference.

Welcoming the delegates, Aurangzeb said the conference will bring countries close to each other.

She said the parliament had passed a legislation ensuring access to information about public departments, in order to encourage independent journalism.

"Our media mostly concentrates on political and terror-related news while neglecting the social and development news and I think this trend now should be changed," she added.

Delegates discussed the current challenges being faced by journalists in the world and presented views and suggestions on how to cope with them.

Janjua criticized the Western media for portraying Pakistan as a volatile Muslim state, calling it a propaganda.

"Pakistan has successfully defeated terrorism and restored peace," he said, adding the country had a bright future.