Information Groups’ Vital Role in Shaping Modern Narratives

APP

Islamabad: Minister for Information, Broadcasting, and Parliamentary Affairs Murtaza Solangi has said that in the age of propaganda, narratives, and counter-narratives, the importance of the job of the officers of the information group has increased manifold.

Delivering his keynote address at the “Graduation Ceremony of Training Programmes Domain Specific 38th MCMC and 40th Specialised Training Programme” the other day, he said the responsibility of officers of this group was to counter the propaganda of inimical forces and promote and project Pakistan’s soft and positive image.

He said, unlike many other groups of civil service officers, the information group officers had to work hard to improve their skills through continuous study. “You have to love your job to improve your knowledge.

You have to learn not only about media and media laws but also about politics, history, geography, art, culture, music, and the languages of the country,” he added. He said that the focus of the officers of the information group should be to adapt to the rapidly changing media landscape.

The minister said that when the internet and social media were introduced, it was thought that a new window of knowledge had been opened and the dependency on mainstream media would end.

But unfortunately, now a new “political economy” has been invented on social media, and affluent people could hire the services of a few dozen people to spread fake news and create bogus trends.

He urged the officers to learn the languages of Pakistan, which had a diverse culture, as conveying a message to someone in their own language was always easy.

He said that in this age of advanced technology, there was no scope for laxity, as any delay in dissipating the truth would give others the opportunity to fill the vacuum with fake news and propaganda.

Speaking on the occasion, Secretary Information and Broadcasting Shahera Shahid said that efforts were afoot for the restructuring of the information group as per the requirements of modern times. She opined that the restructuring of the information group was imperative to meet the challenges of modern times.

Shahera Shahid urged the officers and probationers of the group to work hard to improve the standing of their group.

In his welcome address, Executive Director General of the Information Service Academy, Dr. Tariq Mehmood, shed light on the aims and objectives of the two courses.

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Murtaza Solangi distributed the certificates among the participants in the two courses.

Senior officers from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, including Additional Secretary Information and Broadcasting Syed Mubashar Tauqir Shah and MD Associated Press of Pakistan, were also present on the occasion.