President urges PEMRA to improve standards of information by optimizing free flow information

Islamabad: President Dr Arif Alvi has called for discouraging the culture of fake news as it creates chaos in the society as well as misleads the people. He said that the media needed to play its role in promoting ethical and moral values and avoid spreading false information. He urged Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) to improve standards of information, education and entertainment by optimizing the free flow of information. He expressed these views while talking to the Chairman PEMRA, Mr. Muhammad Saleem Baig, who called on him, at Aiwan-e-Sadr, today.

The Chairman PEMRA presented the Annual Report 2019-2020 to the President and briefed him about the role of his organization in facilitating and promoting free and independent electronic media in Pakistan. He also highlighted the steps taken for promoting true and accurate information in the country.

Talking to the Chairman PEMRA, the President said that the society was facing the challenge of false news and it was the responsibility of the concerned stakeholders to avoid disseminating fake news as it created many problems for the people. He added that spreading false news was against the spirit of Islam and it was the moral obligation of editorial boards of Media Houses as well as Ulema to play their role in guiding and educating the people to overcome the challenge of false news. He urged Chairman PEMRA to ensure the dissemination of unbiased, accurate and verified information through electronic media so as to curb the scourge of fake news. The President appreciated the performance of PEMRA and assured the Chairman of his full support.