Media to give equal coverage to all the political stakeholders:Nizami

Islamabad: Caretaker Federal Minister Arif Nizami has said that the caretaker government would help the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to ensure transparent elections in the country.

Nizami urged media to give equal coverage to all the political stakeholders. “It must play an impartial role in the upcoming elections,” he added.

Talking to a private news channel, he said that the ECP would formulate an effective code of ethics for media so that it could play a vital role during the elections.He hoped that the ECP would ensure the accountability of former members of assemblies facing fake degree charges.He said that tax defaulters should be stopped from participating in the elections.

Replying to a question, Nizami said that the Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz had faced tough time in the past dictatorial regime.He hoped that caretaker Punjab Chief Minister Najam Sethi would facilitate the electoral process.

He said that duty of caretaker government was to run the day-to-day affairs of the country. It would try to meet the expectations of people by holding peaceful and fair elections in the country.
Meanwhile,Caretaker Minister for Information and Broadcasting and Postal Services Arif Nizami said on Wednesday that holding of free and fair elections was top priority of the interim government.

While chairing a meeting in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting here, he said that the government will fully facilitate national and international media during elections so that they could perform their duties in accordance with their professional ethos.

The minister said that the official media should adopt a balanced approach and maintain a level of neutrality in reporting events.
“We are staunch advocate of media freedom and can never allow any sort of curbs on the media”, Arif Nizami said.

Pakistan was a functional democracy where media and judiciary were fully independent and civil society was vibrant, Nizami said adding that there was no hurdle in smooth democratic transition in the country.

Secretary Information Agha Nadeem briefed the minister about the working of the ministry he meeting was attended by media chiefs and senior officials of the Ministry.